Key numbers
State Farm's average hail claim rose by nearly $2,000 from 2021 to 2022, its largest year-over-year increase to date (State Farm (newsroom), 2022).
| More than $3.8 billion | State Farm paid more than $3.8 billion for hail-damaged home repairs and over $1.2 billion for auto repairs in 2024. Source: State Farm (newsroom), 2024 |
|---|---|
| More than $68 billion | Severe convective storms caused more than $68 billion in total U.S. economic damage in 2025. Source: Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I), 2025 |
| 38.1% to 47.7% | Between 2019 and 2023, wind and hail's share of U.S. homeowners losses ranged from 38.1% to 47.7% each year. Source: Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I), 2019-2023 |
No, a roofer cannot legally pay your insurance deductible. Colorado law bars any roofing contractor paid from an insurance policy from offering to pay, waive or rebate all or part of a deductible (C.R.S. 6-22-105), and Texas law makes it illegal for a contractor to offer to waive, rebate or absorb one (Business and Commerce Code 27.02). The deductible is your share of the claim. A “free roof” offer only works if someone tells your insurer the roof cost more than it did, and that is insurance fraud.
How the deductible scheme works
Most roof claims pay in two parts. Here is a legal claim, using example figures:
- The insurer’s estimate for the roof is $10,000. Your deductible is $1,000.
- The insurer pays $9,000 across two checks. You pay $1,000. The roofer is paid $10,000.
Now the “discount” version:
- A roofer offers a $1,000 credit for a yard sign or a referral, or simply says “we’ll take care of your deductible.”
- You actually pay the roofer only $9,000.
- To collect the final depreciation check, the roofer sends your insurer an invoice for $10,000. Sometimes the homeowner is handed two invoices, one to keep and one to send.
The insurer paid $1,000 more than the real price of the roof, based on a false invoice with your name on the claim. The Texas Department of Insurance describes the same pattern: an estimate higher than the actual repair cost, with the extra insurance money used to cover the deductible.
Variations we have seen include fake loans written for the exact deductible amount, sign or “advertising” credits, bandit signs promising free roofs, and “we’ll eat the deductible” offers at the door.
What Colorado and Texas law say
Colorado:
- A roofer may not advertise or promise to pay, waive or rebate any part of a deductible (C.R.S. 6-22-105(1)).
- If a roofer does, the insurer is not obligated to consider that roofer’s estimate, and you or the insurer may sue the roofer for resulting damages (C.R.S. 6-22-105(2)).
- Every residential roofing contract paid by insurance must state that the contractor cannot pay, waive or rebate the deductible (C.R.S. 6-22-103). If yours is missing that line, ask why. More on the Colorado deductible law.
Texas:
- A contractor may not offer to waive, rebate or absorb a deductible, and any contract of $1,000 or more involving an insurance settlement must include a notice that you must pay the deductible (Business and Commerce Code 27.02).
- Your insurer may ask you for proof that the deductible was paid (Insurance Code Chapter 707).
- TDI warns that contractors who illegally waive deductibles could be fined or go to jail.
Why a “free roof” costs you more
The money has to come from somewhere. A contractor who gives up $1,000 per roof makes it back by cutting what you cannot see: thinner underlayment, reused flashing, missing drip edge, fewer nails. TDI makes the same point: a contractor waiving your deductible may be cutting corners on materials, which leads to more repairs later.
There is a wider cost too. Fraudulent claims feed into what insurers charge everyone, and in Colorado many policies have already moved to percentage wind and hail deductibles. And ask the obvious question: if a roofer will lie to your insurer, why trust them to be straight with you?
Other red flags after a storm
After a hailstorm, the Colorado Division of Insurance tells homeowners to be careful with contractors who knock on the door or call uninvited, to check references, and to get everything in writing. Also watch for:
- A contract that assigns all of your insurance proceeds to the contractor.
- A large deposit before materials are delivered. Colorado requires your payment to be held in trust until materials arrive or most of the work is done (C.R.S. 6-22-103).
- An offer to “handle the claim” or negotiate with your insurer for you. Roofers may not act as public adjusters in Colorado or Texas.
- An unusually low bid paired with a request for a higher invoice. See what happens when a roof bid is meant to cheat the insurer.
Where to report roofing insurance fraud
- Colorado: Stop Fraud Colorado, run by the Colorado Attorney General, at 1-800-222-4444. For a problem with your insurer, the Colorado Division of Insurance’s consumer services line is 303-894-7490.
- Texas: the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline at 800-621-0508, or the Texas Department of Insurance help line at 800-252-3439.
Honest ways to lower your cost
You can lower what you pay without breaking the law: compare Good, Better and Best roof options with upfront pricing, make sure the insurer’s estimate includes everything the roof needs (our guide to reading your claim summary shows how to check), and ask about financing for upgrades or the deductible. We will never offer to cover a deductible.
Integrity Roofing and Painting is veteran-owned and family-run since 1990, an Owens Corning Platinum Preferred contractor with 650+ Google reviews. Our contracts state the real price, and the invoice your insurer sees matches it. Book a free inspection in Colorado Springs, Denver or Austin, call (719) 488-2800, (303) 209-0152 or (512) 610-5897, or read how to choose a roofer after a storm. More quick answers are on our roofing and insurance FAQ.
Sources: C.R.S. 6-22-105 and 6-22-103 (unofficial reproduction); Texas Department of Insurance, Roofing and insurance: know the law (updated 3/24/2025) and Is it OK for a contractor to waive my deductible? (updated 12/9/2025); Colorado Division of Insurance, hailstorm consumer advisory; Stop Fraud Colorado.
