Deductibles

Why We Won’t Waive Your Deductible

What you actually pay on a roof claim — and the Wisconsin statute that makes the contractor offering to absorb it liable for a forfeiture.

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The Answer

Do You Pay Your Deductible For A New Roof In Wisconsin? Yes, And Here Is Why

Your roof insurance deductible in Wisconsin is your share and cannot be waived: Wis. Stat. § 100.65(2) bans a contractor from promising to pay or rebate any of it, in person or in advertising, with a $500 to $1,000 forfeiture per violation. The contractor who offers has told you they will break state law to get the job.

On a covered roof claim the insurer pays the cost of the work less your deductible. On the regional benchmark roof of $29,253 with a flat $2,000 deductible, the insurer pays $27,253 and you pay $2,000. Some Wisconsin policies carry a percentage deductible for wind and hail specifically, commonly 1% or 2% of the dwelling coverage: on $300,000 of dwelling coverage, 2% is $6,000 and 1% is $3,000. It buys a lower premium and a much larger exposure on exactly the loss you are most likely to have here. Check which you have before a storm makes it urgent.

What the law says

“We’ll waive your deductible” is not a discount. It is a forfeiture.

No residential contractor may, including in any advertisement, promise to pay or rebate all or any portion of a property insurance deductible as an incentive to a consumer entering into a written or oral contract with the residential contractor to repair or replace a roof system…
Wis. Stat. § 100.65(2)

Wisconsin bans the offer itself, in advertising or in person, and defines “promise to pay or rebate” broadly — any allowance, discount against fees, gift, bonus, coupon, credit or referral fee. Under § 100.65(9) each violation carries a forfeiture of $500 to $1,000. The contractor who makes the offer has told you, in the first minute, that they will break state law to get the job. The rest of their paperwork should be read in that light.

Plainly

How The Deductible Waiver Actually Works, And What It Costs You

What they say

“We’ll take care of your deductible.” It is your obligation to the insurer; a contractor cannot waive it any more than a garage can waive your car payment.

What they do

Inflate the invoice by the deductible so the insurer pays your share without knowing it. That is a false statement to an insurer on a claim — separately unlawful from the forfeiture — and your name is on the same document.

What it costs you

A denied or clawed-back claim, a fraud referral, and no recourse against the contractor because you were party to the inflated figure. And a roof priced by somebody who started by lying.

What honest looks like

The deductible on the contract, in writing, as your payment — along with the cancellation notice the contract is required to carry. A contractor unwilling to write either down is telling you something.

The Tell

What The Offer Tells You About The Contractor

The waiver is the first thing a storm-chasing crew says because it works: it makes a new roof sound free. It is also the quickest test there is. A contractor who opens with an offer the state bans outright, under a statute written specifically for roofing after a storm, has answered every other question you were going to ask about their paperwork, their warranty and where they will be in two years. The nine questions for the roofer at your door put it sixth; it could go first.

If a contractor has made you the offer, the Wisconsin Consumer Protection Bureau takes complaints on 1-800-422-7128 or online — § 100.65 is enforced through the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. You do not have to; but the next homeowner on the street is about to get the same offer.

Straight Answers

Deductible Questions

That is between you and us, and it is a normal conversation about payment terms on a written contract. What it cannot be is a discount, a credit or an allowance that leaves the insurer paying your share — § 100.65(1)(c) defines every one of those as a prohibited rebate. Terms, yes. A smaller number than the one on the claim, no. Financing sets out the honest options.

Then there is no point filing it, and we will tell you so with the estimate in hand. A repair you pay for directly costs less than a claim is worth and does not go on your loss history. The inspection is how you find out which side of the line you are on before you call the insurer.

It is a trade. A 2% wind-and-hail deductible on $300,000 of dwelling coverage is $6,000 against a flat $1,000 or $2,000, in exchange for a lower premium every year. In a part of Wisconsin where hail is the most likely claim you will ever make, that is a large exposure on the most probable loss. Worth knowing which you have, and worth pricing the flat alternative at renewal.

To us, as part of the contract price. The insurer pays its share of the agreed scope — the first check and later the recoverable depreciation — and you pay the balance, which on a replacement-cost policy is your deductible. How the two checks work.

The Wisconsin Consumer Protection Bureau, on 1-800-422-7128 or online. The statute is enforced through the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, and a complaint takes a few minutes. You do not have to make one; but the offer that was made to you is being made down the street this afternoon.

Insurance claims

The hub: what a contractor may and may not do in a claim, the sequence, and the six pages that go deeper.

All claims pages

The questions we get asked

Cost, timing, permits, insurance and warranties, answered plainly on one page.

Roofing FAQ

ACV versus RCV

The other half of what you pay: how depreciation is held back and released, in real figures.

Depreciation

Financing

Spreading a deductible is a normal conversation about payment terms. Waiving it is not.

Payment options

This page explains how Wisconsin law and a typical homeowner policy treat a roof claim. It is general information, not legal advice, and your own policy is the document that governs your claim. Where we quote a statute we link it so you can read it yourself.

Second Opinion

Been Offered A Roof With No Deductible?

Send us the quote. We will tell you what is in it, what is not, and what the offer means — and price the roof honestly, with your deductible on the contract.

Call (920) 285-0877 Request an Inspection