Roofers & Adjusters - and The Law

Interesting read on the subject below. I am carefully reviewing the new law and will have to decide whether to get my adjuster license or not. It appears that it may restrict me more than help me, we'll see.

As usual in legalese, there is much nuance in the wording, and it appears that a roofing contractor can indeed be involved in a hail claim so long as he is representing his own interests independently and not that of the insured. It will be interesting to see a test case on that. In effect, the roofer would be doing the same thing as before, but being careful not to appear to be acting as an adjuster.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Read it carefully.

Insurers will use this against many contractors and guess what? It is now the LAW and there is no way around it.

By: Guillen H.B. No. 1183

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to prohibited conduct by insurance adjusters, public insurance adjusters, and roofing contractors. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Chapter 4101, Insurance Code, is amended by adding Subchapter F to read as follows: SUBCHAPTER F. PROHIBITED CONDUCT Sec. 4101.251. CERTAIN ROOFING-RELATED BUSINESS PROHIBITED. (a) An insurance adjuster licensed under this chapter may not adjust a loss related to roofing damage on behalf of an insurer if the adjuster is a roofing contractor or otherwise provides roofing services or roofing products for compensation, or is a controlling person in a roofing-related business. (b) A roofing contractor may not act as an adjuster or advertise to adjust claims for any property for which the contractor is providing or may provide roofing services, regardless of whether the contractor holds a license under this chapter. (c) The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to implement and enforce this section. SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 4102, Insurance Code, is amended by adding Section 4102.163 to read as follows: Sec. 4102.163. CERTAIN ROOFING-RELATED BUSINESS PROHIBITED. (a) A roofing contractor may not act as a public adjuster or advertise to adjust claims for any property for which the contractor is providing or may provide roofing services, regardless of whether the contractor holds a license under this chapter. (b) The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to implement and enforce this section.

Even though I've been in this business for about 40 years, I have been involved with insurance adjusters less than 10 times, so it isn't an issue for me. But recently I experienced a couple of incidents in another field where insurance coverage dominates, an oral surgeon and an optometrist. Both have employees knowledgeable of how to get the most (for them) out of the insurance companies while minimizing the copay and advise the patient how to work the system.

Yet these professions aren't looked down at in the same manner as roofing companies that try to do the same thing even though the owner probably gets paid more than the roofing company owner.

An interesting read, thanks :cheer:

I was looking at a roof in Lamesa, Tx in '89 after a large hailstorm, when an adjuster on a roof across the alley asked if I'd meet him on the roof he was on. When I got up there his exact words were "I'm an adjuster from Phoenix and I've never seen hail damage before; can you show me what it looks like?"

And he was adjusting losses!

Regarding your 1st 2 paragraphs natty: Same here in Indiana. They were knocking on doors in my neighborhood a few yrs. back.......10 miles or more from the nearest storm

What a Racket! :unsure:

Some guy from Hays & Sons, a restoration contractor, jumped on my clients roof and proclaimed no hail damage. Of course not! You were not getting the job ya goofball. If you had a chance at the job, I'm sure all "honest" opinion woulda gone out the window. 100% sure. 101% sure even

What was funny he could not tell the top edge of a shingle from a plywood seam......Get on out of here ya goofball. It wasn't even relevant anyway.....

I guess my poor honest client gets lost in the shuffle.

Payola used to be illegal.....guess what? Not anymore!

From my point of view as a contracting Roofer, it seems to me the insurance companies are too lenient and freely pay claims with little or no damage. Too many roofs are torn off and hauled to the dump when there was plenty of life left in them. In North Texas, a roofing racket has arose where most roofing companies, including the locals, are always in a storm chasing mode. Any little storm creates a feeding frenzy and roofs are totaled miles from the storm. Roofing expertise and quality are thrown away and the only thing that matters is how many roofs can you sell and how fast can you slap them on. The North Texas roofing scene has turned into the place for hucksters, hustlers and slap on artists.

I see ads claiming "insurance specialists", "free roofs", "we have adjusters on staff", for example. They canvas the area with their phony contingency contracts and the property owners are their prey.

I don't know the impetus behind this law. My guess is that it is an attempt by the insurance company lobbyists to keep the businesses of adjusting and roofing separate. I have seen too many cases where a property owner went with a certain roofer because they thought "the insurance company sent them."

Insurance adjusters can now refuse claims and the roofing company can't argue with them. The property owner will now have to hire public adjusters to argue for them if they believe they had legitimate damage.

It seems obvious that a roofer has a legal right to defend his estimate for repairs to a hail damaged roof which he carries a guarantee on. Hail voids a guarantee and if an adjuster declines a claim, it leaves the roofer hanging out to dry and he has a right to defend the repairs necessary to main his guaranty.