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?
ProhibitedMissouri bars labor depreciation unless the policy expressly defines actual cash value or depreciation to include labor. Standard homeowner forms are silent on the point, so in most first-party roof claims the carrier must pay labor undepreciated in the ACV check. Withholding depreciated labor under a silent policy breaches the contract.
Authority
Franklin v. Lexington Ins. Co., 652 S.W.3d 286 (Mo. Ct. App. W.D. 2022) (No. WD 84816, decided June 28, 2022), holds that labor may not be depreciated under a policy that does not define ACV or depreciation to expressly include labor depreciation. The rule is contractual, not statutory. A policy that does expressly define ACV or depreciation to reach labor falls outside the holding, so read the definitions section before disputing a withholding.
Related: RCV vs. ACV and recoverable depreciation, explained · Xactimate RFG vs. DMO labor — pricing removal correctly
Must insurers replace undamaged materials so the repair matches?
RequiredMissouri has no matching statute or insurance regulation. The matching obligation comes from appellate case law reading standard replacement-cost language: the insurer's duty is not limited to the damaged area, and replacing undamaged materials can be required when a mismatch reduces the property's value. Application is fact-specific, so a visible mismatch against sound shingles supports a full-slope or full-roof argument but is not an automatic entitlement.
Authority
Alessi v. Mid-Century Ins. Co., No. ED102261 (Mo. Ct. App. E.D. June 23, 2015), interpreting "equivalent construction and use" in a replacement-cost policy. The court read "equivalent" as equal in value and virtually identical, and held the carrier's obligation extended beyond the damaged elevation of vinyl siding. Whether a replacement is virtually identical, and whether a mismatch reduces value, are jury questions. Alessi is a siding case; roofs are reached only by analogy. Title 20 CSR, the Department of Commerce and Insurance regulations, contains no matching or uniform-appearance rule, so the obligation rests entirely on contract interpretation.
Alessi v. Mid-Century Ins. Co., No. ED102261 (Mo. App. E.D. June 23, 2015) — full opinion (FindLaw, verified) · Alessi v. Mid-Century Ins. Co., No. ED102261 — full opinion (Justia) · Missouri Code of State Regulations, Title 20 (Dept. of Commerce & Insurance) — index confirming no matching regulation exists
Related: The line items adjusters miss on a roof claim · How to fight a lowball insurance estimate
Can a contractor pay or waive the homeowner's deductible?
ProhibitedMissouri bans paying, rebating, absorbing, or discounting a homeowner's insurance deductible as an inducement to sell roofing or exterior work, and bans advertising or promising to do it. The statute reaches indirect routes as well: allowances, discounts against your fees, and cash, gifts, prizes, bonuses, coupons, credits, or referral fees paid to the insured. Bill the carrier the price you actually charge, and let the homeowner pay the deductible.
You may
- Bill the carrier the same price you charge the homeowner
- Collect the full deductible from the homeowner
- Offer a payment plan so the deductible can be paid over time
- Refer the homeowner to third-party financing for their share
- Give a genuine, disclosed discount off your real price, understanding the carrier then pays proportionally less and the deductible still comes out of the homeowner's pocket
You may not
- Pay, rebate, absorb, or waive any part of the deductible
- Advertise or promise deductible help, even if you never do the work
- Grant an allowance or discount against your fees to offset the deductible
- Pay the insured compensation, a gift, prize, bonus, coupon, or credit tied to the job
- Pay a referral fee to the insured
- Bill the carrier a price higher than the one you intend to collect
Penalty: A violation is an unfair practice under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, enforceable by the Attorney General and actionable by an aggrieved owner; it is not a standalone crime.
Authority
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 407.725 prohibits a contractor from advertising or promising to pay or rebate all or any portion of an insurance deductible as an inducement to the sale of goods or services, and defines that conduct to include granting any allowance, offering any discount against fees, or paying the insured any compensation, gift, prize, bonus, coupon, credit, or referral fee. Both doing it and advertising it are covered. The section sits in Chapter 407, Merchandising Practices, and was enacted in its current form by S.B. 610 (2014). A violation is deemed an unfair practice under the Merchandising Practices Act. The statute bans waiving or rebating the deductible, not lending against it. A payment plan or outside financing that leaves the homeowner owing the full deductible is not a rebate, an allowance, or a discount against fees.
Missouri Revisor of Statutes — RSMo § 407.725 (official code text)
Related: RCV vs. ACV and recoverable depreciation, explained
Can a contractor negotiate the homeowner's claim?
ProhibitedMissouri has an express roofing-contractor bar: you may not represent or negotiate on a homeowner's insurance claim for roof or other exterior work, and you may not offer or advertise that you will. You may still act for yourself. Prepare and submit your own scope, estimate, photos, and supplement for the work you are contracted to perform, and discuss that price and scope with the adjuster. The line is your bid versus their claim.
You may
- Prepare a scope and estimate for the work you will perform
- Submit that estimate, photos, and measurements to the carrier
- Explain and defend your own line items and pricing to the adjuster
- Submit a supplement for your own work when conditions change
- Be present at the carrier's inspection and answer questions about your scope
- Tell the homeowner the damage appears storm-related and that they may want to file a claim
You may not
- Represent or negotiate on the homeowner's behalf on the claim
- Offer or advertise that you will handle, represent, or negotiate their claim
- Speak as the homeowner's voice in settlement discussions
- Advise on policy coverage or argue the carrier's coverage position for them
- Sign or submit claim-position documents for the homeowner in place of the homeowner
- Charge a percentage-of-claim fee
- Adjust or settle a fire or allied-lines claim for a policyholder without a public adjuster license
- Take a public adjuster license as a workaround and then contract to repair the same property
Penalty: A violation of § 407.725 is an unfair practice under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, which the Attorney General enforces through injunctions, restitution, and civil penalties; unlicensed public adjusting under ch. 325 is a separate misdemeanor.
Authority
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 407.725.6: "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 the repair or replacement of roof systems, or the performance of any other exterior repair, replacement, construction, or reconstruction work." Section 407.725.1(1) defines "contractor" as 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 other exterior work. Section 407.725.7 makes any violation an unfair practice under the Merchandising Practices Act. Current version effective Aug. 28, 2014 (L. 2011 S.B. 101, A.L. 2014 S.B. 610). Chapter 325 reinforces the bar. Section 325.010 defines a public adjuster as any person engaging in the adjustment or settlement of claims for losses under fire or allied lines policies, § 325.015 requires a license, and § 325.040 makes violation of §§ 325.010 to 325.055 a misdemeanor. Section 325.055 bars a licensed public adjuster or solicitor from soliciting or entering an agreement to repair or replace the damaged property on the same claim, so licensing is not a route around the roofing bar. One qualification. The § 407.725.6 ban runs to representing or negotiating "on behalf of" the owner, and Missouri writes no express carve-out for a contractor's own estimate. Keep every communication framed as your bid for your work, have the homeowner sign and submit claim-position documents themselves, and do not tie your compensation to the claim amount.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 407.725 — Contractor duties re: insurance claims for roof/exterior work; violation an unfair practice (Missouri Revisor of Statutes) · Mo. Rev. Stat. § 325.010 — Definitions ("public adjuster") (Missouri Revisor of Statutes) · Mo. Rev. Stat. § 325.015 — License required (Missouri Revisor of Statutes) · Mo. Rev. Stat. § 325.040 — Penalty (misdemeanor) (Missouri Revisor of Statutes) · Mo. Rev. Stat. § 325.055 — Contracts to repair or replace prohibited, when (Missouri Revisor of Statutes)
Related: What is a roofing supplement? · How to fight a lowball insurance estimate
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