A New Texas Law – What YOU Need to Know About Paying Your Insurance Deductible
Have you been waiting to repair or replace your roof? Here’s what you need to know about paying your deductible now that HB 2102 has been passed. HB 2102 (a NEW Texas Law, starting September 1st, 2019), now requires ALL Texas homeowners to pay their homeowner’s insurance deductible. However, HB 2102 does allow you as a homeowner to pay your deductible in installments, but even paying in installments can still be overwhelming if you don’t have the funds to cover the payments. Below, we discuss what you need to know about paying your deductible under HB 2102.
Discuss Your Financing Options With Elevated Roofing Today
We are proud of our reputation as a leader in the residential roofing industry by ensuring each and every client receives the highest level of customer service and workmanship possible. We know it is not an option to ignore damage to your roof. We provide financing options and are happy to discuss them with you. Give us a call at (469) 305-0010 or contact us through our online contact form.
What is HB 2102?
Here is the nuts and bolts of HB 2102 that Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed on June 14, 2019. Homeowners, such as yourself, in North Texas, can no longer take advantage of a “Free Roof”. It had become common practice for roofing contractors to offer to waive your deductible to help you get a new roof due to hail or wind damage. Even though this has technically been illegal in Texas since 1989, the statute was not well written so there was little enforcement. This new law, HB 2102, makes enforcement possible.
What Does This Mean for YOU, the Homeowner?
How does this new law affect the roofing contractors you will be working with? Under the recently approved Texas House Bill 2102, any roofing contractor that offers to waive your deductible on your property insurance could be facing criminal charges. So, roofers are now required to state in their contract in boldface language that you must pay the deductible under your property insurance policy. Since this House Bill is in effect, it’s now a criminal offense for a roofing contractor to do the following for you:
• Pay your insurance deductible;
• Waive your insurance deductible;
• Absorb your insurance deductible;
• Rebate your insurance deductible; or
• Offset your insurance deductible.
If you knowingly submit or allow a claim to be submitted with a waived or reduced deductible, YOU, as an insured policyholder are also in violation of the law. This new law helps protect you as the consumer from the onslaught of roofers that go door-to-door after Texas storms that are not accredited and may leave you with sub-par work, or even a partially completed roof.
How Does This Law Work for the Insurers?
This new bill even affects the way your insurance company handles your claim. Now as a provision of the new state law, your insurer may refuse to pay a claim for withheld replacement cost holdback until they receive reasonable proof that you’ve paid your deductible. Your insurer can ask for the following as proof you’ve paid your deductible:
• Canceled checks,
• Money order receipts,
• Credit card statements,
• Copy of an executed installment plan contract, or
• Another type of financing arrangement to pay the full deductible over time.
While this may seem like an extreme measure, this new law is to better help protect YOU from being taken advantage of, by disreputable contractors, who botch roof jobs that cost you more money over time and take your insurance money and leave you without completing your roof in an acceptable manner.
We at Elevated Roofing, are Here to Help!
Here at Elevated Roofing, we know it is not an option to ignore the damage to your roof and hope that it doesn’t get worse. And attempting to get a lower deductible from your insurance company means you’ll have to pay a higher premium. In our efforts to best serve our customers and community, we have secured a partnership with BTK Credit to help you spread your deductible over time at 0% interest.
What this partnership means to our customers, is that we are able to repair or replace your roof, while giving you an opportunity to pay back your deductible over time. BTK Credit lets you to complete a credit application for approval to set up the installment agreement. You can choose from a 12, 24, 36, 48, or 60-month term loan. For more information, or to complete a loan application, please visit www.btkcredit.com.
Feel Free to Contact Us
If you still have any questions, please allow us the opportunity to serve you. We will be happy to explain the effects or the new law in more detail, or answer any of your questions that you may have. We are one of the top premier roofing companies in the DFW area, with over 40 years of experience. Don’t just take us at our word, see our reviews here. We would love the opportunity to serve you and your family. Contact Us.
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