Can a Missouri roofer waive or pay my insurance deductible?

RSMo 407.725 subsection 2 says a contractor shall not advertise or promise to pay or rebate all or any portion of any insurance deductible as an inducement to the sale of goods or services. The section then defines that phrase unusually broadly: it includes granting any allowance or offering any discount against the fees to be charged, and paying you or anyone associated with the property any compensation, gift, prize, bonus, coupon, credit, referral fee or other item of monetary value, for any reason.

Can my contractor deal with the insurance company for me?

Subsection 6 says a contractor shall not represent or negotiate, or offer or advertise to represent or negotiate, on behalf of an owner or possessor of real estate on any insurance claim in connection with roof systems or other exterior work. Note that offering or advertising to do it is covered, not only actually doing it.

What has to be attached to my contract?

Subsection 4 requires the contractor, before entering the contract, to furnish two things: a statement in boldface type of at least ten points explaining the cancellation right, and a fully completed form in duplicate captioned NOTICE OF CANCELLATION, attached to the contract but easily detachable, also in boldface of at least ten points. If those are not in your paperwork, that is a fact you can establish by looking.

How long do I have to cancel if my claim is denied?

Under subsection 3, until midnight on the fifth business day after you receive written notice from your insurer that all or any part of the claim or contract is not a covered loss. You cancel by giving written notice to the contractor at the address stated in the contract. It need not take any particular form, and if given by mail it is effective on deposit in the mail, properly addressed and postage prepaid.

Do I get my deposit back?

Subsection 5 says that within ten days of cancellation the contractor shall tender back any payments, partial payments or deposits and any note or other evidence of indebtedness. The exception is emergency services you acknowledged in writing were necessary to prevent damage to the premises, for which the contractor is entitled to the reasonable value. A contract term requiring you to pay a fee for anything other than emergency services is not enforceable against you if you cancelled under this section.

What happens if a contractor breaks these rules?

Subsection 7 provides that any violation of the section by a contractor shall be considered an unfair practice under the Missouri merchandising practices act. What to do about a specific situation is a question for your own advisor or the Missouri Attorney General's office, not for us.

Missouri hail damage insurance claims

Missouri does not license roofers. It does regulate what they may do once your insurance is paying, and in a state that gets this much hail that covers a great deal of the roofing work done here. The section is RSMo 407.725, it is short, and almost no homeowner has read it.

Everything on this page comes from the text of RSMo 407.725, read at revisor.mo.gov. Effective 2014-08-28 (L. 2011 S.B. 101, A.L. 2014 S.B. 610). Status as of July 2026. This describes what the section says. It is general information, not legal advice.

Shelf cloud with a hard leading edge advancing over green Missouri farmland — A shelf cloud over Missouri farmland. Illustrative image, not a storm we can date or measure.

Who the section applies to

Subsection 1 defines a contractor broadly: a person or entity in the business of contracting, or offering to contract, with an owner or possessor of residential or commercial real estate to repair or replace roof systems or perform any other exterior repair, replacement, construction or reconstruction work.

It also defines "roof system" to include roof coverings, roof sheathing, roof weatherproofing and insulation. So this is not a narrow provision about shingles. It reaches essentially anyone who might knock on your door after a storm.

What Missouri law says about your roofer and your claim

Missouri has no roofing licence, but it does have one statute that reaches almost every storm-damage job in the state, and most homeowners have never heard of it. RSMo 407.725 governs how a contractor may behave on work paid under a property and casualty policy. Five things it does.

1

They cannot offer to cover your deductible

Subsection 2: a contractor shall not advertise or promise to pay or rebate all or any portion of any insurance deductible as an inducement to the sale of goods or services. The section defines that broadly, and it is worth reading the breadth: it includes granting any allowance or offering any discount against the fees to be charged, and paying you or anyone associated with the property any compensation, gift, prize, bonus, coupon, credit, referral fee, or other item of monetary value, for any reason.
2

They cannot handle the insurance company for you

Subsection 6: a contractor shall not represent or negotiate, or offer or advertise to represent or negotiate, on behalf of an owner or possessor of real estate on any insurance claim in connection with roof systems or other exterior work. Note that offering counts, not just doing it.
3

Your contract must come with a detachable cancellation notice

Subsection 4 puts duties on the contractor BEFORE you sign. They must give you a statement in boldface type of at least ten points telling you about the cancellation right, and a fully completed form in duplicate, captioned NOTICE OF CANCELLATION, attached to the contract but easily detachable, also in boldface of at least ten points. This is the most checkable item on the list: look at the paperwork in front of you.
4

You can cancel if your insurer denies the claim

Subsection 3: if you signed a contract for work to be paid under a property and casualty policy, you may cancel before midnight on the fifth business day after you receive written notice from your insurer that all or part of the claim is not a covered loss. You cancel in writing to the contractor at the address in the contract. It does not have to take any particular form, and if mailed it is effective on deposit.
5

Your money comes back within ten days

Subsection 5: within ten days of cancellation the contractor must return payments, partial payments, deposits and any note or evidence of indebtedness. The one carve-out is emergency services you acknowledged in writing as necessary to prevent damage, for which they are entitled to reasonable value. A contract clause charging you a fee for anything other than emergency services is not enforceable against you if you cancelled under this section.

Why this matters at the door. "We'll cover your deductible" and "we'll deal with the insurance company for you" are the two most common openers in storm-chasing sales. Missouri addresses both by name. A contractor who leads with either is telling you something before you have asked a single question.

Source: RSMo 407.725, read at revisor.mo.gov. Effective 2014-08-28 (L. 2011 S.B. 101, A.L. 2014 S.B. 610). Subsection 7 provides that a violation is an unfair practice under the Missouri merchandising practices act. Status as of July 2026. This describes what the section says and is general information, not legal advice; read the section yourself and take your own situation to your own advisor.

The two sentences you will actually hear

What makes this section unusually useful is that the legislature appears to have written it against the two most common storm-sales openers in the trade.

"We'll cover your deductible"

Subsection 2 addresses this directly, and it closes the obvious workarounds. The prohibition is on advertising or promising to pay or rebate all or any portion of any insurance deductible as an inducement to the sale. The section then says a promise to pay or rebate includes granting any allowance, offering any discount against the fees to be charged, or paying you or anyone directly or indirectly associated with the property any compensation, gift, prize, bonus, coupon, credit, referral fee or other item of monetary value, for any reason.

That breadth is the point. "We'll take it off the invoice", "we'll give you a gift card", "we'll pay you for each neighbour you refer" are all inside the definition.

"We'll handle the insurance company for you"

Subsection 6 says a contractor shall not represent or negotiate, or offer or advertise to represent or negotiate, on behalf of an owner on any insurance claim connected with roof or exterior work. The offer alone is covered.

This is worth understanding rather than just noting, because the offer sounds like a convenience. Adjusting a claim on someone's behalf is separately regulated work in most states, and the section keeps the roles apart: your contractor prices and performs the work, and the claim is between you and your insurer.

The thing to check right now

If there is a storm-damage contract in front of you, look for the detachable NOTICE OF CANCELLATION form. Subsection 4 requires the contractor to furnish it before you enter the contract: fully completed, in duplicate, attached to the contract but easily detachable, in boldface type of at least ten points, alongside a separate boldface statement explaining the cancellation right.

The statute even prescribes the substance of the wording, which tells you how specific the requirement is. This is the most checkable thing on this site: either the paperwork contains it or it does not, and that is a fact rather than an opinion about the company.

If the claim is denied after you have signed

The clock starts when you receive written notice from your insurer that all or part of the claim is not a covered loss.
You have until midnight on the fifth business day after that to cancel.
Cancel in writing to the contractor at the address stated in the contract. No particular form is required, and any written expression of your intention not to be bound is sufficient.
By mail it is effective on deposit, properly addressed and postage prepaid, not on receipt.
Your money comes back within ten days, apart from emergency services you acknowledged in writing as necessary to prevent damage.

What this section does not do

Being straight about the limits matters as much as the content:

It does not license or vet roofers. Missouri has no roofing licence. See how to check a Missouri roofer.
It does not decide what your insurer must pay. That is your policy and your carrier.
It does not give you a general right to cancel. The cancellation right in subsection 3 is tied specifically to written notice of non-coverage from the insurer.
It does not tell you whether metal is the right choice. The Missouri Metal Roofing Guide covers that.

If you are weighing a metal upgrade on a claim, the practical framing is on hail damage roof replacement: compare the metal quote against the settlement, not against zero.

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Questions homeowners ask

Can a Missouri roofer waive or pay my insurance deductible?: RSMo 407.725 subsection 2 says a contractor shall not advertise or promise to pay or rebate all or any portion of any insurance deductible as an inducement to the sale of goods or services. The section then defines that phrase unusually broadly: it includes granting any allowance or offering any discount against the fees to be charged, and paying you or anyone associated with the property any compensation, gift, prize, bonus, coupon, credit, referral fee or other item of monetary value, for any reason.
Can my contractor deal with the insurance company for me?: Subsection 6 says a contractor shall not represent or negotiate, or offer or advertise to represent or negotiate, on behalf of an owner or possessor of real estate on any insurance claim in connection with roof systems or other exterior work. Note that offering or advertising to do it is covered, not only actually doing it.
What has to be attached to my contract?: Subsection 4 requires the contractor, before entering the contract, to furnish two things: a statement in boldface type of at least ten points explaining the cancellation right, and a fully completed form in duplicate captioned NOTICE OF CANCELLATION, attached to the contract but easily detachable, also in boldface of at least ten points. If those are not in your paperwork, that is a fact you can establish by looking.
How long do I have to cancel if my claim is denied?: Under subsection 3, until midnight on the fifth business day after you receive written notice from your insurer that all or any part of the claim or contract is not a covered loss. You cancel by giving written notice to the contractor at the address stated in the contract. It need not take any particular form, and if given by mail it is effective on deposit in the mail, properly addressed and postage prepaid.
Do I get my deposit back?: Subsection 5 says that within ten days of cancellation the contractor shall tender back any payments, partial payments or deposits and any note or other evidence of indebtedness. The exception is emergency services you acknowledged in writing were necessary to prevent damage to the premises, for which the contractor is entitled to the reasonable value. A contract term requiring you to pay a fee for anything other than emergency services is not enforceable against you if you cancelled under this section.
What happens if a contractor breaks these rules?: Subsection 7 provides that any violation of the section by a contractor shall be considered an unfair practice under the Missouri merchandising practices act. What to do about a specific situation is a question for your own advisor or the Missouri Attorney General's office, not for us.

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