Louisiana legislators are discussing a bill, HB121, that would ban roofing contractors from helping homeowners with the insurance process. It’s the latest in the roofing insurance wars heating up across the United States of America.
Among the things banned in the bill: roofers wouldn’t be allowed to give a homeowner an agreement to authorize repairs or construction unless it includes an estimate with itemized, detailed costs. That rule doesn’t apply if the insurance company adjusts the claim and the actual cost of repairs ends up higher or lower than the original estimate.
Roofers would also no longer be able to advertise or solicit themselves as insurance claims specialists. They can’t say they offer help with insurance claims or interpreting policies. They wouldn’t be allowed to guide homeowners through the process at all.
Understandably, this has caused a firestorm among roofers. Some say it’s going to absolutely strangle their business. They rely on insurance claims—that’s their bread and butter. Others see it as a way to clamp down on fraud. The idea being that, without so much fraud, insurance prices could go down.
Still, others argue it opens the door for insurance companies to take advantage of homeowners because it limits how much outside expertise a homeowner can lean on during the process.
It’s also worth noting that the bill bans public adjusters from acting as contractors, too. So it is a two-way street. But by and large, the outrage around this bill has come from roofing contractors, not public adjusters.
This Louisiana legislation is part of a nationwide trend. More states are starting to restrict and regulate the roofing industry.
Last year, Iowa began issuing cease and desist orders to roofers who helped homeowners with the insurance process. That move quickly led to a lawsuit from Shamrock Roofing. Florida already has laws on the books that fine contractors who negotiate claims or offer things like deductible rebates, and if you do it more than once, you could even get hit with a felony.
Texas, meanwhile, has stirred up some controversy of its own. A new bill there, HB 3344, would require new roofing contractors in Texas to be licensed before they can work. One of the key parts of that licensing process? It bans contractors from acting as public adjusters or getting too involved with the insurance process.
That Texas bill, like the one in Louisiana, has triggered a wave of frustration, especially in Facebook groups. A lot of roofers see it as another step toward giving insurance companies more power. And it’s also being viewed as something that makes it harder for new people to break into the roofing industry.
What Roofers are Saying
One of the big criticisms of these laws is that they don’t really help homeowners all that much.
Assuming there’s no fraud involved, what you’re doing is removing the best-case scenario: a trusted expert who understands both roofs and the insurance process. If a public adjuster doesn’t know their stuff, or if you don’t have one at all, the insurance company’s adjuster can just say whatever they want, and that becomes the final word.
Then, when the roofer actually gets up there to do the job, they might be walking into a mess. Maybe the damage is way worse than the claim covered. Maybe the materials cost more. It just creates a setup where the insurance company has the upper hand and the homeowner gets stuck.
For a lot of people, that’s the real concern. And it feels especially valid after how some insurance companies handled major disasters in Florida and California. Homeowners were already frustrated with delays, denials, and red tape, and these laws could make that even worse.
It’s worth noting that a lot of this legislation is showing up in states that already deal with major storm activity.
Places like Colorado, which sees tons of hail claims and hail damage, have been cracking down on this kind of thing for years. Florida, same story. And if you’ve been in any roofer groups, you already know: there’s a lot of simmering resentment toward insurance companies.
More and more, it feels like roofers are having a harder time getting legitimate claims approved. It also feels like homeowners are getting left in the lurch, forced to figure things out on their own.
So if you’re a roofer, what do you do?
How Successful Roofers Are Responding
At ProLine, what we’ve seen from our most successful customers is a shift toward a pure retail model.
In this model, you generate leads through your website, handle the inspection, and provide a quote. If the homeowner wants to pursue insurance coverage for the roof, that’s up to them. They can do that on their own time, without you getting involved in the claims process.
Some roofers even build relationships with public adjusters or attorneys they trust. That way, they can refer homeowners to someone who can handle the insurance side of things properly. But as the contractor, your role stays focused: quote the job, get paid, and do the work.
Another popular alternative is offering financing.
Roofing isn’t cheap, and it’s only getting more expensive. Most homeowners don’t have $20,000 or $30,000 just sitting around to cover a full roof replacement. So if you’re going to focus on retail instead of insurance, giving people the option to finance can be a huge help.
It makes the sale easier. It makes the project more doable. And it gives homeowners a way to say yes without blowing up their savings.
What’s Next for the Roofing Insurance Wars?
Neither of these bills—Louisiana’s or Texas’s—has passed yet.
The Louisiana bill passed the House unanimously on April 29. The Texas one, last we checked, is still in committee. So, yeah, we’ll need to keep an eye on both. But pass or not, these bills reflect something bigger: a shift in how lawmakers, insurers, and the market are viewing storm restoration and insurance-backed roofing work.
Where does it all lead? We’ll just have to wait and see.
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