Roofing Insurance Laws in Illinois

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?

Prohibited

Illinois bars insurers from depreciating labor when the policy does not define actual cash value. Only the physical structure and materials may be depreciated, so labor comes off the ACV check at full value. If the policy expressly defines ACV to include labor depreciation, that definition controls and the rule does not apply.

Authority

Sproull v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., 2021 IL 126446, 184 N.E.3d 203, holds that where a homeowner's policy does not define "actual cash value," the insurer may not depreciate labor costs in calculating ACV. The court construed 50 Ill. Adm. Code 919.80(d)(8)(A). The holding is expressly limited to policies that do not define ACV to include labor depreciation. Read the definitions page before asserting it.

Sproull v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Co., 2021 IL 126446 — official Illinois Courts slip opinion PDF (verified: holding at para. 16, Code cite at para. 10, limitation at para. 20)

Must insurers replace undamaged materials so the repair matches?

Unsettled

Illinois has no matching statute and no line-of-sight regulation. Whether a carrier owes uniform replacement turns on the policy wording, and Illinois construes ambiguity in favor of coverage. On a roof, that supports full replacement where patching would leave a visible mismatch, but it is not a categorical mandate.

Authority

There is no Illinois matching statute. 50 Ill. Adm. Code Part 919, the improper claims practice rule, contains no matching or uniform-appearance provision. Windridge of Naperville Condominium Ass'n v. Philadelphia Indemnity Ins. Co., 932 F.3d 1035 (7th Cir. 2019), applying Illinois law, required a replacement-cost carrier to replace undamaged siding on all four sides so the building would match. The unit of covered property, each panel versus each side versus the whole building, was ambiguous as applied to those facts, and paying only for hail-struck panels would leave a two-tone building that could not make the insured whole. The outcome rested on that policy's ambiguity. A policy that clearly defines a smaller unit of coverage can owe no matching, which is why the rule is unsettled rather than settled in the policyholder's favor.

Windridge opinion (No. 18-2103) — CourtListener · 50 Ill. Adm. Code Part 919 (Improper Claims Practice) — full text, JCAR/Illinois General Assembly

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

Prohibited

Illinois bans deductible rebating outright. You may not advertise or promise to pay or rebate any portion of an insurance deductible as an inducement to sell home repair or remodeling work, and the advertising alone violates the statute whether or not you ever do the job. Bill the carrier the price you actually charge, and offer financing or a payment plan if the homeowner cannot cover the deductible at once.

You may

Bill the homeowner the full deductible amount
Submit an estimate for the price you actually intend to collect
Offer a payment plan so the deductible is paid over time
Offer third-party financing for the homeowner's out-of-pocket share
Explain in writing that the deductible is the homeowner's obligation

You may not

Waive, absorb, or rebate any part of the deductible
Advertise a "free roof" or "no out-of-pocket" offer
Grant an allowance or discount against your fees as an inducement
Pay the insured or anyone associated with the property any form of compensation
Inflate the estimate to cover the deductible you are not collecting
Credit the deductible for a referral, sign placement, or similar consideration

Penalty: Any person suffering actual damage may sue under Section 10a of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, and violations are unlawful practices enforceable by the Attorney General or State's Attorney; no criminal penalty is specified.

Authority

815 ILCS 513/18(b) of the Home Repair and Remodeling Act provides that a contractor offering home repair or remodeling services 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 statute defines a promise to pay or rebate to include granting any allowance or offering any discount against the fees to be charged, or paying the insured or any person directly or indirectly associated with the property any form of compensation. That definition reaches waiving, discounting, absorbing, and rebating alike, so a nominal "discount" tied to the deductible is inside the ban. The prohibition is written broadly and is not textually limited to declared catastrophe events, despite the section heading "Repairs following damaging weather." Enforcement runs through 815 ILCS 513/30, which gives any person who suffers actual damage from a violation an action under Section 10a of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, 815 ILCS 505.

815 ILCS 513/18 (official Illinois General Assembly full text, .htm) · Home Repair and Remodeling Act, 815 ILCS 513/ articles index (ILGA)

Can a contractor negotiate the homeowner's claim?

Prohibited

Illinois bars a roofing contractor from representing a homeowner on an insurance claim or filing the claim on their behalf. Only a licensed public adjuster, the homeowner, or their attorney may adjust or negotiate the claim. The same statute protects normal contracting: you may write an estimate, submit it to the carrier, and talk through the damage and repair options with the adjuster.

You may

Provide the insured a written estimate for your scope
Submit that estimate, and supplements to it, to the insurer
Confer with the insurer's representative about the damage
Discuss repair or replacement options with the adjuster
Discuss repair or replacement options with the homeowner
Document and defend your own scope and price

You may not

Represent, or offer or advertise to represent, a homeowner on a claim
Call in or file a claim to the carrier on the insured's behalf
Tell the homeowner you will handle their claim
Advise the homeowner on policy coverage or claim rights
Negotiate the settlement amount for the homeowner
Take anything of value for referring leads to a public adjuster

Penalty: Unlicensed public adjusting is a declared public nuisance subject to Attorney General injunction and is a Class A misdemeanor, with a Class 4 felony for misappropriating or converting claim money; the contractor-side violation is an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud Act and exposes you to private suits for actual damages and attorney's fees.

Authority

815 ILCS 513/18(i) provides that a contractor shall not represent, or offer or advertise to represent, on behalf of a homeowner on any insurance claim, and shall not call in or file a claim to an insurance carrier on the insured's behalf. The same subsection expressly permits the contractor to provide the insured an estimate that may be submitted to the insurer, to confer with the insurer's representative about the damage, and to discuss repair or replacement options with the insurer's representative or the insured. Home Repair Act enforcement is at 815 ILCS 513/30 (actual damages), 513/31 (attorney's fees), and 513/35. The Public Adjusters Law, 215 ILCS 5/1501 et seq., defines adjusting a claim as negotiating values, damages, or depreciation, or applying the loss circumstances to policy provisions. Section 1510 sweeps in anyone who, for compensation or anything of value on behalf of the insured, acts or aids in adjusting a first-party claim, holds out as a public adjuster, or solicits business, investigates or adjusts losses, or advises an insured about first-party claims for another person in the loss-adjusting business. Section 1515(a) bars acting, advertising, soliciting, or holding out as a public adjuster without a license. Section 1605 declares unlicensed public adjusting a public nuisance subject to Attorney General injunction; Section 1610 sets the criminal penalties. Illinois DOI Company Bulletin 2026-02 (Jan. 26, 2026), "Third-Party Public Adjuster Lead Generators," states that a roofing or home repair company receiving anything of value for supplying client leads to a public adjuster, including direct payment, common ownership or shared expenses, or the prospect of a larger repair payment, must itself hold an Illinois public adjuster license, citing 215 ILCS 5/1510 and 5/1515.

815 ILCS 513/18 — Home Repair and Remodeling Act, Sec. 18 "Repairs following damaging weather" (Illinois General Assembly, official act text; source note P.A. 97-235) · Public Act 96-1332 (official PDF, SB0660 Enrolled) — adds the Public Adjusters Law, 215 ILCS 5/1501–1615 (secs. 1510 definitions, 1515 license required, 1605 public nuisance/AG injunction, 1610 Class A misdemeanor / Class 4 felony) · Illinois DOI Company Bulletin 2026-02 (Jan. 26, 2026) — Third-Party Public Adjuster Lead Generators: roofers/home repair companies paid "anything of value" for leads must hold an Illinois public adjuster license · 215 ILCS 5, Article XLV — Public Adjusters Law (Illinois Insurance Code, Illinois General Assembly)

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