Roofing Insurance Laws in Arkansas

Informational only — not legal advice. Laws and case precedent change, and outcomes depend on your specific policy language. Verify current law with your state Department of Insurance or a qualified attorney before relying on it.

Can insurers depreciate labor when calculating ACV?

Permitted

Arkansas permits carriers to depreciate labor in an actual cash value calculation, but only when the policy carries Commissioner-approved notice that expense depreciation may be deducted and the insurer gives a written explanation of how the depreciation was figured. Where a policy lacks that notice, the older rule barring labor depreciation still governs. Check the policy for the notice language before you concede a labor deduction on an ACV payment.

Authority

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-88-106, added by Act 279 of 2017 (eff. Aug. 1, 2017), defines "expense depreciation" to include labor and allows a policy to provide for it, conditioned on the required notice and a written explanation of the calculation. The statute supersedes Adams v. Cameron Mut. Ins. Co., 2013 Ark. 475, 430 S.W.3d 675, only for compliant policies. Adams, which barred labor depreciation where the policy did not define actual cash value, continues to control policies without the § 23-88-106 notice.

Arkansas General Assembly - Act 279 of 2017 (official enrolled bill PDF, SB 133) adding Ark. Code Ann. § 23-88-106 · Ark. Code Ann. § 23-88-106 (FindLaw) - Expense depreciation applicable when determining value of damaged property; definitions include labor · Ark. Code Ann. § 23-88-106 (Justia, 2024)

Must insurers replace undamaged materials so the repair matches?

Unsettled

Arkansas has no matching law. Nothing in the insurance code, the claims-handling rule, or Department bulletins requires a carrier to replace undamaged shingles or siding for reasonably uniform appearance or line-of-sight consistency. Whether the carrier pays to match an undamaged slope turns entirely on the policy wording, so argue matching from the replacement-cost terms and any endorsement, not from a state mandate.

Authority

Arkansas Code Title 23, Subtitle 3, contains no matching provision. Rule and Regulation 43, the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices rule (054.00.00 Ark. Code R.), sets acknowledgment, investigation, and settlement standards and says nothing about matching or uniform appearance; Arkansas never adopted the NAIC reasonably-uniform-appearance language, and the Department has issued no matching bulletin. No Arkansas appellate decision addresses matching. The state's nearest property-insurance holding, Adams v. Cameron Mut. Ins. Co., 2013 Ark. 475, concerns labor depreciation in actual cash value, not matching.

Arkansas Rule and Regulation 43 - Unfair Claims Settlement Practices (Cornell LII official regulation text; no matching provision) · Arkansas Rule 43 official filing (Arkansas Secretary of State) · Arkansas Code Title 23, Subtitle 3 - Insurance (statutory index; no matching statute)

Can a contractor pay or waive the homeowner's deductible?

No specific statute

Arkansas has no statute barring a contractor from waiving, absorbing, or rebating a homeowner's deductible, and none banning ads that offer it. The exposure is the fraud analysis instead: the wrong is billing the carrier a price you never intend to collect, because the estimate then misstates what the job actually costs. Bill what you actually charge and the deductible question takes care of itself.

You may

Bill the carrier the price you actually charge the homeowner
Collect the full deductible from the homeowner
Offer a payment plan or third-party financing for the deductible
Give a genuine discount, disclosed to the carrier, with the estimate reduced to match
Advertise a promotion you actually honor at the advertised price

You may not

Submit an estimate at a price you never intend to collect
Inflate scope or unit prices to recover a deductible you absorbed
Advertise "free roof" or "no out-of-pocket" when the job is not free
Represent to the carrier that the homeowner paid a deductible they did not pay
Treat a waived deductible as a hidden discount the carrier is not told about

Penalty: A false advertisement can be reached under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and a claim inflated to recoup a waived deductible can be charged as insurance fraud.

Authority

No Arkansas statute addresses contractor deductible waiver. Ark. Code Ann. § 23-66-308, the anti-rebating provision, reaches only insurers, brokers, agents, and solicitors, and says nothing about deductibles or contractors. Two 2025 bills that would have created a prohibition both died. HB1811 would have made failure to pay, waive, or rebate a deductible a fraudulent insurance act; it failed in committee. HB1308, a proposed residential-repair-contract unfair-practices act, was withdrawn by its author on April 14, 2025 and sent to interim study. General authority remains available on the right facts: the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Ark. Code Ann. § 4-88-107, for a genuinely false advertisement, and the insurance fraud statute, Ark. Code Ann. § 23-66-501 et seq., for a claim inflated to recoup a waived deductible. Neither is deductible-specific.

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-66-308 (Unlawful Rebates, Discounts) full text — insurer/agent-facing, no deductible or contractor language (FindLaw) · Arkansas General Assembly — HB1811 (2025) official bill page (deductible-fraud bill; failed / no action in committee) · Arkansas General Assembly — HB1308 (2025) official bill page: WITHDRAWN BY AUTHOR 4/14/2025, referred to interim study

Can a contractor negotiate the homeowner's claim?

Prohibited

Arkansas issues no public adjuster license at all, and the Insurance Department's position is that public adjusters are prohibited from adjusting claims in the state. There is no license a roofer can obtain to work a homeowner's claim, and an unlicensed person may not consult, counsel, or advise anyone on insurance coverage. You may write, submit, and defend your own estimate; you may not work the homeowner's claim.

You may

Inspect the roof and document the damage
Write and submit your own estimate, scope, and supplement
Provide photos, measurements, and code documentation
Explain the price and scope of your own work to the adjuster
Be present at the carrier's inspection
Recommend that the homeowner file a claim

You may not

Negotiate the settlement on the homeowner's behalf
Act as the homeowner's representative with the carrier
Interpret or advise on policy coverage
Take a percentage of the claim as compensation
Advertise that you will "handle your claim" or deal with the insurer for them
Solicit or represent the claim itself, which crosses into practicing law

Penalty: License action plus a fine up to $1,000 per violation, capped at $50,000 in any six-month period; a company that represents the claim also faces a $100 to $5,000 unauthorized-practice-of-law fine against the entity and the responsible officer or employee.

Authority

Ark. Code Ann. § 23-64-201(b)(1) bars a person from consulting, counseling, or advising others on insurance needs or coverages under any policy without a license; subsection (a) bars a licensee from letting an unlicensed person solicit, sell, negotiate, consult, or adjust in the business of insurance; subsection (c) bars adjusting claims without licensure. Ark. Code Ann. § 23-64-102(5)(A) defines an "insurance consultant" as one who for a fee advises or counsels anyone as to insurance needs and coverages. The Arkansas Insurance Department's licensing page states that public adjusters are prohibited from adjusting claims in Arkansas. One qualification. The "adjuster" definition at § 23-64-102(4)(A) is insurer-side, covering one who investigates and negotiates settlement on behalf of the insurer. The bar on contractor-side claim negotiation therefore rests on the absence of any public-adjuster license, the § 23-64-201(b)(1) consulting bar, and the Department's published position, not on a statute naming roofers. Penalties are at Ark. Code Ann. § 23-60-108 (refusal, suspension, revocation, or nonrenewal of license, plus a fine no greater than $1,000 per violation, not to exceed $50,000 in any six-month period) and Ark. Code Ann. § 16-22-211 (corporations and voluntary associations may not practice law, tender legal services, or solicit any claim or demand for the purpose of bringing an action or representing as attorney at law; fine of $100 to $5,000).

Arkansas Insurance Department — Licensing ("Public adjusters are prohibited from adjusting claims in Arkansas.") · Ark. Code Ann. § 23-64-201 — License required to solicit, sell, negotiate, consult, or adjust (text of (a), (b)(1), (c)) · Ark. Code Ann. § 23-64-102 — Definitions of "adjuster" (4)(A) and "insurance consultant" (5)(A) · Ark. Code Ann. § 23-60-108 — Penalty generally ($1,000 per violation; $50,000 per six months; license action) · Ark. Code Ann. § 16-22-211 — Corporations/associations practicing law or soliciting claims ($100–$5,000 fine)

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