Deductible
Also called: excess, policy deductible
Deductible is the amount of a covered loss the homeowner absorbs before the insurer pays anything. It is subtracted from the settlement rather than billed, and on storm claims it is frequently larger than the homeowner expects because wind and hail often carry their own separate deductible.
What it means
The deductible is the portion of a covered loss the policyholder carries themselves. It is not a bill and it is not paid to anyone; it is simply subtracted before the insurer pays. If the covered loss comes to less than the deductible, there is no payment at all.
On a roof claim the deductible shows up as the difference between what the carrier settles and what the job costs. The homeowner funds that difference, and on storm claims it can be a substantial sum.
Why storm deductibles surprise people
Most homeowners can recite a deductible figure. It is usually the flat all-perils amount that was set when they bought the policy, and it is frequently not the number that applies to a hail claim.
Policies in storm-exposed markets commonly carry a separate wind and hail deductible, and that deductible is often expressed as a percentage of the dwelling coverage limit rather than as a fixed sum. Percentage wind and hail deductibles of two to three percent are standard on Texas homeowner policies according to the Texas Department of Insurance and NAIC. Against a dwelling limit that has risen with rebuild costs over several renewals, the resulting figure can be many times the flat deductible the homeowner has in mind.
Nobody has usually explained this. The homeowner is not being unreasonable when they are shocked; they are reading a number from memory that was accurate for a different peril.
The one rule that is not negotiable
The deductible cannot be waived, covered, rebated, or absorbed by the contractor. This is not a matter of business preference. Many states prohibit it explicitly, it is treated as insurance fraud, and it exposes the homeowner as well as the contractor.
It also appears in disguised forms that are no better: an inflated invoice that builds the deductible into the scope, a discount that exactly matches it, or free work offered in exchange for the claim. Carriers recognise all of these patterns.
A contractor offering to handle the deductible is telling you something about how they run every other part of a job.
Common mistakes
Quoting the deductible from local experience is the most common and the most avoidable. The declarations page has the answer and the carrier will confirm it.
The second is forgetting that it is deducted after depreciation, not instead of it. Both come off the first payment, which is why an ACV cheque on an older roof can be startlingly small.
The third is treating a claim as worth making without checking the number. If the covered damage does not clearly exceed the deductible, filing may achieve nothing at all, and the homeowner deserves to know that before the claim is opened.
On the call
Never state a homeowner's deductible, even when the market average is well known. Ask them to read it from their declarations page or confirm it with their carrier. A guessed deductible is the single most common cause of a furious call later, and it is entirely avoidable.
This is how our agents handle it on storm appointment calls and day-to-day roofing answering service intake.
Questions people ask about deductible
- Does the homeowner pay the deductible to the insurer?
- No. It is not invoiced by anyone. It is subtracted from what the carrier pays, which means the homeowner effectively contributes it toward the cost of the work. In practice it shows up as the gap between the settlement and the contractor's bill.
- Can a contractor cover or waive the homeowner's deductible?
- No. Absorbing, rebating, or disguising a deductible is prohibited in many states and is treated as insurance fraud, and it puts the homeowner's claim at risk as well as the contractor's licence. An offer to cover a deductible is the clearest warning sign of a contractor to avoid.
- Why is the wind and hail deductible different from the main one?
- Because carriers price storm exposure separately in high-risk markets. Many policies carry a separate wind and hail deductible, often stated as a percentage of the dwelling limit rather than a flat sum, which can make it several times the all-perils figure the homeowner remembers.
Back to the full roofing claims glossary.