Roofing Insurance Laws in Kansas

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

Kansas permits carriers to depreciate labor when calculating actual cash value. Where the policy defines ACV to include an allowance for physical deterioration and depreciation, the roof is treated as a single unit produced by both materials and labor, not as separate material and labor components. Expect labor depreciation on the ACV check and recover it as recoverable depreciation after the work is complete.

Authority

Graves v. American Family Mut. Ins. Co., 686 F. App'x 536 (10th Cir. Apr. 21, 2017), affirming the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas (No. 2:14-cv-02417), held that an insurer applying Kansas law may lawfully depreciate labor costs where the policy's actual cash value definition includes an allowance for physical deterioration and depreciation. The court reasoned that the insured bought one actual cash value policy, not separate material and labor coverages. No Kansas statute, insurance regulation, or Kansas Supreme Court decision holds otherwise.

Graves v. American Family Mut. Ins. Co. (10th Cir. 2017) - FindLaw full opinion · Graves v. American Family Insurance Co. docket (D. Kan. 2:14-cv-02417) - govinfo

Must insurers replace undamaged materials so the repair matches?

Unsettled

Kansas has no matching, uniform-appearance, or line-of-sight requirement. Whether the carrier must replace undamaged slopes so the shingles match turns entirely on the policy language, including any like-kind-and-quality clause and any cosmetic or matching exclusion or endorsement. Argue the policy wording, not a state mandate.

Authority

K.A.R. 40-1-34, the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices regulation, contains no reasonably-uniform-appearance or line-of-sight provision. Its only like-kind-and-quality language governs auto total-loss ACV settlements and the definition of a comparable vehicle, not matching of undamaged roofing or siding. K.S.A. 40-2404, the unfair methods of competition and deceptive acts statute, imposes no matching duty. No Kansas Department of Insurance bulletin and no controlling Kansas appellate decision does either.

Kan. Admin. Regs. § 40-1-34 — Unfair Claims Settlement Practices, full text (Cornell LII) · K.A.R. 40-1-34 — official Kansas Department of Insurance compilation (PDF) · K.S.A. 40-2404 — Unfair methods of competition / deceptive acts (Kansas Revisor of Statutes)

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

No specific statute

No Kansas statute prohibits a contractor from waiving, rebating, or absorbing a homeowner's insurance deductible, and none bans advertising that you will cover it. The deductible language circulated online as Kansas law comes from a 2011 bill that died in committee and was never enacted. Your exposure is the fraud analysis, not a deductible statute: the wrong is billing the carrier a price you never intend to collect, because the estimate then misstates what the job actually costs.

You may

Bill the carrier the price you actually charge and collect the deductible
Offer a payment plan or financing so the homeowner pays the deductible over time
Give a genuine, disclosed discount, understanding the carrier then pays proportionally less
Document upgrades or extra scope the homeowner pays for separately
Explain to the homeowner that the deductible is their obligation under the policy

You may not

Submit an estimate at a price you never intend to collect
Inflate the scope or unit prices to bury the deductible
Represent to the carrier that the homeowner paid a deductible you absorbed
Sign a certificate of completion or invoice showing a price you did not charge
Misrepresent your services or qualifications in soliciting the job

Penalty: A violation of the Kansas Roofing Contractor Registration Act is a deceptive or unconscionable act under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act.

Authority

The Kansas Roofing Contractor Registration Act, K.S.A. 50-6,121 et seq., lists unlawful acts at K.S.A. 50-6,133 (fraud, misrepresentation, abandonment, diversion of funds) and says nothing about insurance deductibles. K.S.A. 50-6,138 makes any violation of the Act a deceptive or unconscionable act under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act. K.S.A. 50-6,143, governing assignment of residential insurance benefits, is likewise silent on deductibles. K.S.A. 50-6,125 covers registration-application requirements only. The deductible-advertising prohibition appeared solely in 2011 House Bill 2307, the proposed Kansas residential roofing act. The Legislature's official bill history records it as died in committee on June 1, 2012. It was never codified.

K.S.A. 50-6,133 — Kansas Roofing Contractor Registration Act, prohibited acts (fraud, misrepresentation, abandonment; no deductible provision), Kansas Revisor of Statutes · K.S.A. 50-6,138 — Roofing act violations deemed deceptive/unconscionable acts under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act (silent on deductibles), Kansas Revisor of Statutes · K.S.A. 50-6,143 — Assignment of residential insurance benefits to contractor (silent on deductibles), Kansas Revisor of Statutes · 2011 House Bill 2307, the 'Kansas residential roofing act' (Sec. 3 deductible-advertising ban) — DIED in committee, never enacted · HB 2307 bill status/history — 'Died in Committee' 06/01/2012 (Kansas Legislature)

Can a contractor negotiate the homeowner's claim?

Restricted

Kansas licenses public adjusters, but the definition reaches only first-party claims covered by commercial lines contracts. On a homeowner's personal-lines residential claim you are not public adjusting, and the Kansas Roofing Registration Act places no restriction on how you deal with the carrier. The line is the building: work a commercial property owner's claim for compensation and you need a public adjuster license.

You may

Prepare and submit your own estimate, scope, and supplement
Photograph and document the damage
Meet the adjuster on site and walk the roof
Defend the scope and unit prices of your own work to the adjuster
Discuss the claim with the homeowner and recommend they file
Take a written post-loss assignment of residential policy benefits that meets K.S.A. 50-6,143

You may not

Negotiate or effect settlement of a commercial property owner's first-party claim for compensation
Advise a commercial insured on their claim for compensation
Advertise or solicit as an adjuster of first-party commercial claims
Perform roofing work without a current Attorney General roofing registration
Misrepresent your services or qualifications
Use an assignment that omits any element required by K.S.A. 50-6,143

Penalty: Unlicensed public adjusting on a commercial claim draws a cease-and-desist plus up to $1,000 per act, or $2,000 per act if you knew or should have known; roofing without registration carries a Consumer Protection Act civil penalty and bars you from suing on the contract.

Authority

K.S.A. 40-5502(l) defines a public adjuster across three prongs, and the phrase "covered by and limited to commercial lines insurance contracts" appears in every one: negotiating or effecting settlement for compensation, advertising or soliciting as a public adjuster of first-party claims, and investigating, adjusting, or advising an insured for compensation. Residential personal-lines claims fall outside the licensing act. K.S.A. 40-5503(a) bars acting as or holding yourself out as a public adjuster without a license; its exceptions cover attorneys, life and health, estimators and engineers assisting a licensed adjuster, health providers, and subrogation. Penalties run under K.S.A. 40-2,125(a) (up to $1,000 per act, $2,000 if knowing, plus cease-and-desist) and, for licensees, K.S.A. 40-5510(c) (censure or up to $500 per violation capped at $2,500 in six months, or $1,000 per violation capped at $5,000 if knowing). K.S.A. 50-6,143 expressly permits a post-loss assignment of rights or benefits under a residential property-casualty policy to a residential contractor, including roof-system repair or replacement on real estate housing one to four families. It requires a written assignment carrying the capitalized 14-point statutory notice, a five-business-day cancellation right, a copy to the insurer within three business days, no impairment of the mortgagee, and no inhibiting communication between insurer and insured. The assignment is void if you violate the section or are not in compliance with the roofing registration act, and any violation is a deceptive act under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act. The Kansas Roofing Registration Act, K.S.A. 50-6,121 through 50-6,138, addresses no part of insurance claim handling. K.S.A. 50-6,123 requires a registration certificate, imposes a civil penalty under K.S.A. 50-636(a), and bars an unregistered contractor from bringing or maintaining any court action related to its roofing business. K.S.A. 50-6,133(a)(3)-(4) prohibits fraudulent or deceptive acts and misrepresentation of services or qualifications.

K.S.A. 40-5502 — Definitions, Kansas public adjusters licensing act (subsection (l) defines "public adjuster", limited to commercial lines insurance contracts) — Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes · K.S.A. 40-5503 — License required; limitations; exceptions — Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes · K.S.A. 40-5510 — Suspension, revocation or nonrenewal of public adjuster license; penalties ($500/$1,000 per violation, $2,500/$5,000 six-month caps) · K.S.A. 40-2,125 — Violation of insurance laws; penalties up to $1,000 per act, $2,000 if knowing; cease and desist · K.S.A. 50-6,143 — Residential real estate insurance policy; assignment of rights or benefits to contractor · K.S.A. 50-6,121 — Kansas roofing registration act, citation of act (50-6,121 through 50-6,138) · K.S.A. 50-6,123 — Registration certificate required; penalties; no court action without registration · K.S.A. 50-6,133 — Violations; complaints; investigations; attorney general enforcement · K.S.A. 50-6,138 — Violations of the roofing registration act are deceptive or unconscionable acts under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act · Kansas Attorney General — Roofing Registration program

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