Roofing Insurance Laws in North Dakota

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

North Dakota has no law on depreciating labor. No statute defines actual cash value, no regulation or Insurance Department bulletin addresses it, and no North Dakota court has decided the question. Your policy's definition of actual cash value controls, so read the ACV clause on the loss before you argue the depreciation line.

Authority

N.D.C.C. ch. 26.1-39 (Property and Casualty Insurance) and ch. 26.1-04 (Prohibited Practices in the Insurance Business) govern claims handling but neither defines actual cash value nor addresses labor depreciation. No other North Dakota statute defines ACV. The North Dakota Insurance Department's homeowners glossary defines actual cash value as replacement cost less depreciation and says nothing about whether labor may be depreciated. No Department bulletin addresses the question, and no reported North Dakota Supreme Court, state appellate, or federal decision applying North Dakota law resolves it.

North Dakota Insurance Department — Homeowners Insurance Glossary (defines ACV as replacement cost less depreciation; silent on labor) · N.D.C.C. Chapter 26.1-39 — Property and Casualty Insurance (official ND Legislature code) · N.D.C.C. Chapter 26.1-04 — Prohibited Practices in Insurance Business (official ND Legislature code) · North Dakota Insurance Department — Bulletins (no bulletin addresses labor depreciation)

Must insurers replace undamaged materials so the repair matches?

Unsettled

North Dakota has no matching, line-of-sight, or uniform-appearance requirement. Nothing in state law forces a carrier to replace undamaged shingles or siding so the finished job matches. Whether you get the full slope or the full roof turns on the policy wording, typically a "like kind and quality" or uniform-appearance clause.

Authority

No statute in Title 26.1 of the Century Code addresses matching. Title 45 of the North Dakota Administrative Code carries the insurance rules, and the Article 45-05 property and casualty chapters cover auto self-insurance, crop hail, policyholder claim-information rights, risk retention, risk modification, and defense expenses; none addresses matching or uniform appearance. No North Dakota Insurance Department bulletin and no reported North Dakota court opinion requires replacement of undamaged materials for appearance.

North Dakota Administrative Code, Title 45 (Insurance) — Article 45-05 Property and Casualty Insurance chapter list; no matching/line-of-sight regulation (ND Legislative Branch, official) · North Dakota Insurance Department — Bulletins page (no matching bulletin)

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

Prohibited

North Dakota bans deductible rebating outright. A residential contractor, which by definition includes anyone repairing or replacing a roof system, may not promise to rebate any part of the insurance deductible as an inducement to a sale, and that promise includes granting an allowance, discounting the fee, or paying the insured anything beyond an item of nominal value. Advertising "we cover your deductible" or "no out-of-pocket" is itself the prohibited inducement, so the pitch violates the statute whether or not you ever do the work.

You may

Bill the carrier the price you actually charge
Collect the full deductible from the homeowner
Offer a payment plan or financing so the deductible can be paid over time
Give a genuine, disclosed discount off your real price, understanding the carrier then pays proportionally less
Put the signed 14-point deductible notice on every insurance-funded contract, estimate, and work order
Accept an item of nominal value as the only permitted compensation to the insured

You may not

Waive, absorb, or forgive the deductible
Rebate or pay back any part of the deductible to the homeowner
Grant an allowance or credit against your fee to offset the deductible
Pay the insured compensation in any form beyond nominal value
Advertise or promise that the homeowner will pay nothing out of pocket
Inflate the estimate to the carrier to build the deductible back in

Penalty: A contract entered in violation of the chapter is void, and the required notice states that violations may be punishable by civil or criminal penalties.

Authority

N.D. Cent. Code ch. 26.1-39.2 (Residential Contractor Contracts). Section 26.1-39.2-01 defines residential contractor to cover roof-system repair and replacement. Section 26.1-39.2-03 prohibits promising to rebate a portion of an insurance deductible as an inducement to the sale of goods or services, and defines that promise to include granting an allowance, offering a discount against the fees to be charged, or paying an insured a form of compensation, except an item of nominal value. Section 26.1-39.2-06 requires a signed 14-point notice on every contract, repair estimate, or work order for insurance-paid work, stating the rebate ban, that the insured homeowner is personally responsible for payment of the deductible, and that violations may be punishable by civil or criminal penalties. Section 26.1-39.2-07 voids a contract entered in violation of the chapter. The chapter contains no standalone criminal penalty; criminal exposure runs through the general insurance-fraud and criminal statutes the notice references.

N.D. Cent. Code ch. 26.1-39.2 (official ND Legislature PDF, full chapter text)

Can a contractor negotiate the homeowner's claim?

Restricted

North Dakota requires a public adjuster license to negotiate or settle a homeowner's claim, and there is no contractor exemption. You may work your own estimate; you may not work their claim. State law in fact requires you to give the homeowner and the insurer a written itemized description of your work before you start, and it protects your right to identify additional goods and services needed to complete the repair.

You may

Prepare a written itemized scope and estimate of your work
Deliver that description to both the homeowner and the insurer before work begins
Identify and submit additional goods and services needed to complete the repair
Walk the adjuster through your scope, line items, and pricing
Be present at the carrier's inspection
Take a post-loss assignment of benefits with you named as copayee, with the required notice

You may not

Negotiate or settle the claim on the homeowner's behalf
Advise the homeowner on coverage or policy rights
Solicit the business of investigating or adjusting losses
Charge any fee tied to the claim or its outcome
Advertise that you handle claims or fight the insurance company for the homeowner
Adjust the claim under a public adjuster license and also contract for the repair

Penalty: Willfully acting as or holding yourself out as an unlicensed public adjuster is a class C felony, with administrative fines up to $10,000 per violation.

Authority

NDCC § 26.1-26.8-02(5) defines a public adjuster as a person that, for compensation, acts for or aids an insured in negotiating for or effecting the settlement of a first-party property claim, advertises for employment as a public adjuster or represents to the public that the person is one, or solicits the business of investigating or adjusting losses or advising an insured about first-party claims. Section 26.1-26.8-03(1) requires a license. Subsection (4) lists the only exemptions, including an individual employed for the limited purpose of obtaining facts surrounding a loss or furnishing technical assistance to a licensed public adjuster, such as an estimator; there is no contractor exemption. Subsection (5) makes a willful violation a class C felony, and § 26.1-26.8-10(4) allows an administrative fine up to $10,000 per violation. Licensing is not a workaround on your own job. Section 26.1-26.8-03(3) bars a public adjuster from soliciting or entering an agreement to repair or replace property on a claim the adjuster is engaged to adjust or settle, and § 26.1-26.8-15(4) bars any financial interest in the claim beyond the contracted fee, including consideration from an entity that performs work pertaining to damage related to the insured loss. On the contractor side, NDCC § 26.1-39.2-05 requires the itemized description to the insured and the insurer and provides that the description may not limit the insured or residential contractor from identifying other goods and services necessary to complete repairs. Section 26.1-39.2-04 permits a post-loss assignment with the contractor as copayee, subject to the 14-point notice. Sections 26.1-39.2-03 and -06 impose the deductible-rebate ban and the notice requirement, and § 26.1-39.2-07 voids a contract entered in violation of the chapter. Chapter 26.1-39.2 contains no roofing-specific bar on claim communications; the restriction reaches roofers only through the public-adjuster definition.

NDCC ch. 26.1-26.8 — Public Adjusters (official ND Legislative Branch chapter text, verified) · NDCC ch. 26.1-39.2 — Residential Contractor Contracts (official ND Legislative Branch chapter text, verified) · North Dakota Insurance Department — Producer FAQ ("North Dakota now requires a public adjuster license")

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