Roofing Insurance Laws in New Hampshire

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?

Unsettled

New Hampshire has no statute, regulation, or binding decision on depreciating labor. The state measures actual cash value under the broad evidence rule, so the outcome turns on your customer's policy language and the evidence of value in the individual claim. Expect carriers to depreciate labor and expect to argue it on the policy wording, not on a state rule.

Authority

No controlling New Hampshire authority addresses labor depreciation. New Hampshire applies the broad evidence rule to actual cash value generally. Pinet v. New Hampshire Fire Ins. Co., 100 N.H. 346, 126 A.2d 262 (1956). N.H. Admin. Code Ins 1002, the claim-settlement rule for property and casualty insurance, neither defines actual cash value nor addresses depreciation of labor.

N.H. Admin. Code Ins ch. 1000, pt. Ins 1002 - Claim Settlement for Property and Casualty Insurance (Cornell LII) · Pinet v. New Hampshire Fire Ins. Co., 100 N.H. 346, 126 A.2d 262 (N.H. 1956) (broad evidence rule for ACV) · New Hampshire Insurance Department - Legal Information

Must insurers replace undamaged materials so the repair matches?

Unsettled

New Hampshire has no matching rule and no line-of-sight or uniform-appearance requirement for roof claims. Nothing in state law obligates a carrier to replace undamaged slopes or siding for cosmetic uniformity. Whether the carrier pays turns on the policy wording — "like kind and quality," RCV versus ACV, and any cosmetic or matching exclusion or endorsement.

Authority

N.H. Admin. Code Ins 1002, the claim-settlement rule for property and casualty insurance, runs 21 sections covering purpose, definitions, settlement time limits, estimates, and willing and able contractors. None addresses matching, line of sight, uniform appearance, or replacement of undamaged materials. RSA 417:4 enumerates unfair insurance methods, acts, and practices, with unfair claim-settlement practices at paragraph XV. None addresses matching. No New Hampshire appellate decision imposes a matching obligation.

RSA 417:4 — Unfair Methods, Acts, and Practices Defined (NH General Court, official; verified no matching provision) · N.H. Admin. Code Ins 1002 — Claim Settlement for Property and Casualty Insurance (Cornell LII; verified 21 sections, none on matching) · New Hampshire Insurance Department — Legal Information (.gov)

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

No specific statute

New Hampshire has no statute prohibiting a contractor from waiving, rebating, or absorbing a homeowner's insurance deductible, and no ban on advertising it. The exposure is fraud, and it depends on how you bill: if you inflate the estimate submitted to the carrier so the deductible disappears, the claim misstates what the job costs, and that is chargeable as criminal insurance fraud. Bill the price you actually charge and the deductible question takes care of itself.

You may

Bill the carrier the same price you actually collect from the homeowner
Offer a payment plan or financing so the homeowner can pay the deductible over time
Give a genuine, disclosed discount, with the estimate reduced to match
Explain to the homeowner that a real discount reduces what the carrier pays too
Keep the signed contract price and the submitted estimate consistent

You may not

Submit an estimate for a price you never intend to collect
Pad line items or scope to absorb the deductible
Rebate the deductible back to the homeowner after the carrier funds the claim
Advertise a "free roof" or "no out-of-pocket" job you cannot deliver at the billed price
Bill the carrier one price and sign the homeowner at a lower one

Penalty: Insurance fraud under RSA 638:20 ranges from a misdemeanor to a class A felony depending on the amount involved.

Authority

No New Hampshire statute addresses contractor deductible waiver. RSA 417:4, IX, the anti-rebating provision, reaches insurers, agents, brokers, and insureds rebating premiums or policy benefits. It does not reach third-party contractors and never mentions deductibles. Two general provisions reach the conduct. RSA 638:20 makes insurance fraud a crime, graded by amount from misdemeanor to class A felony. RSA 358-A:2, the Consumer Protection Act, reaches unfair or deceptive acts in trade or commerce, which is where a false "free roof, no cost to you" advertisement lands.

RSA 417:4 - Unfair Insurance Trade Practices, Unfair Methods, Acts, and Practices Defined (official NH General Court) · RSA 638:20 - Insurance Fraud (official NH General Court, Criminal Code) · RSA 358-A:2 - Acts Unlawful (NH Consumer Protection Act, official NH General Court) · NH RSA Chapter 358-A - Regulation of Business Practices for Consumer Protection (table of contents)

Can a contractor negotiate the homeowner's claim?

Restricted

New Hampshire does not license home-improvement contractors, but its public adjuster law reaches claim work by definition: soliciting authority to settle a homeowner's loss, negotiating settlement for the insured, advertising that you adjust claims, or advising an insured about a claim all require a public adjuster license. You may inspect the roof, write and submit your own estimate, scope, or supplement, and discuss the scope and price of your own work with the adjuster. That is selling repair work. Working the homeowner's claim is not.

You may

Inspect the roof and document the damage
Write and submit your own estimate, scope, or supplement
Discuss the scope and price of your own repair work with the carrier's adjuster
Meet the adjuster on site and answer questions about your estimate
Tell the homeowner the damage appears storm-related and recommend they file a claim

You may not

Contract or advertise to "handle the claim" for the homeowner
Solicit authority to settle or negotiate the loss on the insured's behalf
Negotiate the overall settlement amount as the homeowner's representative
Advise the homeowner on coverage or policy rights
Hold yourself out as adjusting first-party fire or homeowner's claims
Get a public adjuster license and use it on your own construction jobs

Penalty: Acting as a public adjuster without a license is a class A misdemeanor, with administrative fines up to $2,500 per violation and refund or restitution available.

Authority

RSA 402-D:2, III defines a public adjuster to include anyone who directly or indirectly solicits from the insured the authority to act for the insured in settling, negotiating settlement of, or appraising a loss under a fire or homeowner's policy for compensation from someone other than the insurer; who acts for an insured in negotiating for or effecting settlement of a first-party claim; who advertises or holds out as adjusting such claims; or who solicits business, investigates or adjusts losses, or advises an insured about such claims. RSA 402-D:3, I bars acting or holding yourself out as a public adjuster without a license. RSA 402-D:19 makes unlicensed public adjusting a class A misdemeanor. RSA 402-D:10, I authorizes suspension, revocation, or an administrative fine of $2,500 per violation. RSA 402-D:17, VIII bars a licensed public adjuster from holding any interest in a construction firm, so licensure is not a route to adjusting your own jobs. Two qualifications. The RSA 402-D:3, III(b) exemption for a person employed only to obtain facts surrounding a loss or furnish technical assistance is framed around assisting a licensed public adjuster, not around a contractor estimating his own job; a contractor's protection is that estimating and selling his own repair work is not acting for the insured to settle or negotiate a loss under RSA 402-D:2, III. No roofing- or contractor-specific claims statute exists in New Hampshire, and no home-improvement contractor registration chapter exists in the RSAs.

N.H. RSA ch. 402-D, Public Adjusters — full chapter official text (NH General Court) · N.H. RSA 402-D:2, Definitions ("public adjuster") · N.H. RSA 402-D:3, License Required (incl. III(b) exemptions) · N.H. RSA 402-D:10, Penalties / administrative fines · N.H. RSA 402-D:17, Standards of Conduct (VIII — no interest in a construction firm) · N.H. RSA 402-D:19, Penalties (unlicensed public adjusting = class A misdemeanor) · N.H. RSA 402-D:13, Contract Between Public Adjuster and Insured · New Hampshire Insurance Department — Public Adjusters License

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