Roofing Insurance Laws in Oklahoma

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

Oklahoma allows insurers to depreciate labor when calculating actual cash value under the replacement-cost-less-depreciation method. The Oklahoma Supreme Court treats a roof as a single product made up of both materials and labor, so labor depreciates along with the shingles. Expect labor depreciation on the ACV check, and recover it as recoverable depreciation once the work is complete under a replacement-cost policy.

Authority

Redcorn v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 2002 OK 15, 55 P.3d 1017 (Okla. Sup. Ct. No. 96,562, decided Mar. 12, 2002), applies the broad evidence rule and permits depreciation of labor as part of the whole. The companion decision is Branch v. Farmers Ins. Co., 2002 OK 40, 55 P.3d 1023.

Redcorn v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. (Okla. 2002) — FindLaw opinion (verified: holding permits depreciating labor in ACV)

Must insurers replace undamaged materials so the repair matches?

Unsettled

Oklahoma has no matching law. No statute, regulation, Insurance Department bulletin, or controlling Oklahoma case requires a carrier to replace undamaged shingles so the roof has a uniform appearance. Whether an adjacent slope or the full roof gets replaced turns on the policy's own "like kind and quality" wording, so build the argument from the policy language and from why a partial repair cannot be made to match.

Authority

The Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act, 36 O.S. Sec. 1250.5, enumerates eighteen prohibited claim settlement practices; none addresses matching or uniform appearance. The Insurance Department's claims-settlement regulation, OAC 365:15-3-7 (standards for prompt, fair and equitable settlements applicable to all insurers), does not adopt the NAIC Model Regulation Sec. 9 "reasonably uniform appearance" language. Oklahoma Insurance Department bulletins contain no matching directive. Roofing-contractor websites claiming Oklahoma "requires" matching rest on no primary source.

36 O.S. Sec. 1250.5 — Acts constituting an unfair claim settlement practice (OSCN) · OAC 365:15-3-7 — Standards for prompt, fair and equitable settlements applicable to all insurers (Oklahoma Administrative Code, Title 365 Insurance Dept.) · Oklahoma Insurance Department — OAC 365:15 Subchapter 3, Claims Resolution and Unfair Claim Settlement Practices

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

Prohibited

Oklahoma bans deductible rebating by roofing contractors outright. On insurance-paid work you may not pay, absorb, or rebate any part of the homeowner's deductible as an inducement, and you may not advertise or promise to do so — the advertising is a violation on its own, whether or not you ever perform the work. Bill the carrier the price you actually charge and collect the deductible from the homeowner.

You may

Bill the carrier the price you actually intend to collect
Collect the full deductible from the homeowner
Offer a payment plan or third-party financing for the deductible
Give a genuine, disclosed discount, understanding the carrier then pays proportionally less
Deliver the required written notice of these requirements with your initial estimate

You may not

Pay, absorb, or rebate all or part of the deductible
Promise to "waive your deductible" or "cover your deductible"
Advertise deductible assistance in any medium
Route the rebate indirectly through a credit, gift, or free upgrade
Inflate the estimate to the carrier to cover the deductible

Penalty: An insurer is not obligated to consider the estimate of a contractor who violates the section, and complaints are forwarded to the Insurance Department and the Attorney General and referred to the district attorney for enforcement and possible prosecution.

Authority

Okla. Stat. tit. 59 Sec. 1151.30 ("Offer to pay insurance deductible or to compensate for providing service"), part of the Roofing Contractor Registration Act, 59 O.S. Sec. 1151.20 et seq., enacted by Laws 2022 (HB 1940), effective Nov. 1, 2022. Subsection (A) is the substantive prohibition: a residential or commercial roofing contractor may not, as an inducement, advertise or promise to pay, directly or indirectly, all or part of any applicable insurance deductible. Subsection (C) sets the complaint and referral mechanism to the Insurance Department, Attorney General, and district attorney. The section also requires written notice of these requirements with the initial estimate. The statute bans waiving the deductible, not lending against it, so a payment plan or financing arrangement remains lawful.

Oklahoma CIB — Roofing Information for Consumers (official state agency page citing 59 O.S. §1151.30) · Okla. Stat. tit. 59 — Roofing Contractor Registration Act (official Oklahoma.gov CIB PDF, primary statutory text)

Can a contractor negotiate the homeowner's claim?

Restricted

Oklahoma licenses public adjusters, and the Insurance Department has stated in writing that a roofing contractor who negotiates a claim or acts as an intermediary between the homeowner and the insurer is acting as an unlicensed public adjuster. You may work your own estimate; you may not work the homeowner's claim. Getting a public adjuster license does not solve the problem on your own jobs, because an adjuster may not hold a pecuniary interest in a construction business serving the same claim.

You may

Tell the homeowner your opinion that the damage looks storm-related
Recommend that the homeowner file a claim
Prepare an estimate or supplement for your own scope that the homeowner submits
Be present when the insurer's adjuster inspects the damage
Answer the adjuster's questions about your scope and pricing
Contract for insurance-funded roof work, with the required 72-hour cancellation notice

You may not

Negotiate or effect settlement of the claim with the carrier
Act as intermediary between the homeowner and the insurer
Contract for a fee to negotiate or settle the claim
Take a power of attorney or other authorization to act on the insured's behalf
Advocate for the insured or help prepare, file, or complete the claim
Advertise as a "claim specialist" or "claim analyst," or that you deal with insurance companies

Penalty: Acting as an adjuster without a license is a misdemeanor under 36 O.S. Sec. 6220(F), punished under 21 O.S. Sec. 10, plus a civil fine of up to $1,000 per violation under 36 O.S. Sec. 6220(B).

Authority

Insurance Adjusters Licensing Act, 36 O.S. Secs. 6201-6223. Section 6202(4) defines a public adjuster as any person or entity that suggests or presents to members of the public that it represents the interests of an insured or third party for a fee or compensation, and provides that public adjusters may investigate claims and negotiate losses to property only. Section 6220(A)(9) makes adjusting losses or negotiating claim settlements without proper licensing a ground for discipline. Section 6220(F) makes unlicensed adjusting unlawful regardless of whether the person has obtained a power of attorney or any other agreement from the claimant. Oklahoma Insurance Department Special Notice re: Roofing Contractors (Commissioner Kim Holland, May 27, 2010) applies these sections to roofers. It states that a contractor must be licensed as a public adjuster to negotiate and act as an intermediary between insured and insurer, and that contractors advertising as claim specialists or claim analysts are acting as unlicensed public adjusters. The same notice draws the permitted line: a contractor may offer an opinion whether roof damage is from a storm, recommend that the insured file a claim, provide an estimate of repair which the insured may submit to the insurer, be present at the adjuster's inspection, and answer the adjuster's questions. Two qualifications. Section 6220.1(A) bars an adjuster from owning or holding a pecuniary interest in a business providing construction services to a claimant for which the adjuster is providing services; the sole exception, Sec. 6220.1(C), reaches only claims located in a municipality of fewer than 6,000 persons with prior written conflict disclosure to both insured and insurer, the 2019 amendment (Laws 2019, c. 294, Sec. 11) having deleted the broader exception the 2010 notice still recites. The Roofing Contractor Registration Act, 59 O.S. Sec. 1151.1 et seq., contains no claim-negotiation bar; its insurance-facing provision, 59 O.S. Sec. 1151.21, regulates contracts paid by property and casualty insurance proceeds and gives the insured 72 hours to cancel after written notice of claim denial.

Oklahoma Insurance Department, Special Notice to All Licensed Insurance Producers, Insurance Adjusters and Insurers re: Roofing Contractors (Commissioner Kim Holland, May 27, 2010) — text verified · Oklahoma Statutes Title 36 (Insurance), official Oklahoma Senate compilation — Insurance Adjusters Licensing Act §§ 6202(4) (public adjuster definition), 6220(A)(9), (B), (F) (discipline, $1,000 civil fine, unlicensed-adjusting misdemeanor), 6220.1 (pecuniary interest in construction businesses; 2019 amendment) · Oklahoma Statutes Title 59 (Professions and Occupations), official Oklahoma Senate compilation — Roofing Contractor Registration Act, § 1151.1 et seq. (no claim-negotiation bar) and § 1151.21 (insurance-proceeds contract cancellation)

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