"We'll Cover Your Deductible" Is Illegal in Minnesota

Every summer a hailstorm crosses the I-94 corridor, and within a day or two the door-knocking starts. Somewhere in that conversation, often quite casually, comes a version of this:

"Don't worry about your deductible — we'll take care of it."

It sounds like a favor. It is a criminal offense in this state, and the person offering it has just told you something important about how they do business.

What the statute says

Minnesota Statutes § 325E.66 governs insurance claims for residential roofing goods and services. In substance, a residential contractor may not:

• Advertise or promise to pay, rebate or absorb all or part of a homeowner's insurance deductible, and
• Offer anything of value to compensate or induce a homeowner into an insurance-funded contract.

The Minnesota Legislature passed this in 2010. The second limb matters as much as the first, because it closes the obvious workaround: free upgrades, rebates, credits, gift cards, "we'll throw in the gutters" — all of it falls within scope when it is being used to induce the contract.

Why the law exists

A deductible is not an administrative fee. It is a deliberate piece of insurance design: by making you carry the first slice of any loss, your policy gives you a reason to care about the size of the claim.

Remove it and the incentive inverts. If the roof genuinely costs you nothing, you have no reason to question whether the scope is padded, whether the damage warranted a full replacement, or whether the claim should have been filed at all. Premiums across the state rise to cover the aggregate of those claims.

There is also a simpler mechanism at work. A contractor who absorbs a $2,500 deductible has not found $2,500 of generosity. They have either inflated the claim to your insurer by roughly that amount, or they are taking it out of the job — thinner underlayment, a cheaper panel gauge, fewer courses of ice barrier, corners cut in the flashing. Neither of those is good news for the roof over your head.

Where this leaves you

The statute's penalties target contractors. Your position is different but not comfortable.

If a claim is submitted to your insurer representing a cost you did not in fact incur, there is a misrepresentation in that claim, and your name is on it. An insurer that discovers it may deny the claim, seek repayment, or take a view on the policy itself.

We are roofers, not lawyers, and this is not legal advice. If somebody has already offered you this and you signed, the right people to talk to are your insurer and a solicitor — not the contractor who made the offer.

Other things that should make you pause

The deductible offer rarely travels alone. It tends to appear alongside a familiar pattern after a storm:

• Pressure to sign on the doorstep. You are entitled to take any document away and read it. Urgency is a sales technique, not a roofing requirement.
• An assignment of benefits pushed early. An AOB transfers your rights under the policy to the contractor. Some legitimate firms use them — but read it, and be wary of one that also binds you to that contractor regardless of the claim outcome, or carries a cancellation penalty.
• "Free inspection" that finds damage every time. On a street where every house is inspected and every house needs a roof, somebody is not inspecting.
• No local address. Ask where the company is based and who honours the workmanship warranty in year six.
• A license number they are reluctant to give you. Minnesota requires a state contractor license for residential work valued at $15,000 or more in a calendar year, and the Department of Labor and Industry publishes a public lookup. Ask for the number and check it yourself. Hesitation is your answer.

Verifying a license takes five minutes

Minnesota requires a state contractor license for residential work valued at $15,000 or more in a calendar year — which covers essentially every roof replacement. The Department of Labor and Industry maintains a public license lookup, and you do not need the contractor's permission to use it.

Ask for the license number, in writing, and check it against the name on the contract. Those two should match. A license held by a different entity from the one you are signing with is worth a direct question, particularly after a storm, when temporary business names appear and disappear quickly.

Also confirm the license is current rather than lapsed, and that the company carries workers' compensation cover. If somebody is injured on your roof and the contractor is uninsured, the question of who is liable becomes your problem rather than theirs.

How a claim should actually go

1. Mitigate. Tarp active leaks, get containers under water, move what is at risk. Insurers expect you to limit the damage.
2. Document. Dated photographs, inside and out, before anything is touched.
3. Get an independent assessment from somebody not trying to sell you a roof that afternoon.
4. Read your policy. Deductible amount, flat sum or percentage of dwelling value, actual cash value versus replacement cost, and whether a cosmetic damage exclusion applies — which matters a great deal on a metal roof.
5. Decide whether to file at all. If the repair cost is near your deductible, filing may cost you more than it returns.
6. Be present when the adjuster inspects, with your contractor there. Pointing at damage together is far easier than disputing it in writing afterwards.

What we do, and do not do

We inspect and document: dated photographs and a written description of what is damaged, what is not, and whether in our view it is functional or cosmetic. If your roof is fine, the report says your roof is fine. We will meet your adjuster on site.

We will not tell you what your claim is worth — that is between you and your insurer. And we will not pay, rebate or absorb any part of your deductible, because it is illegal, and because a company willing to break that law on your driveway is not a company you want on your roof.

More on storm and hail damage on metal roofs, including why dimpling on steel is usually cosmetic while a bruised asphalt shingle is not.