Roofing Insurance Laws in Wisconsin

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

Wisconsin has no law on depreciating labor. Your policy's definition of actual cash value controls, and the question is still open in Wisconsin courts. Expect carriers to depreciate labor on ACV payments and expect the argument to turn on the policy wording, not on a statute.

Authority

No Wisconsin statute, insurance regulation, or binding appellate decision addresses whether an insurer may depreciate labor in calculating actual cash value. The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance defines actual cash value as replacement cost minus depreciation in its homeowner's insurance consumer guide, PI-232, and says nothing about labor. Coppins v. Allstate Indemnity Co. (Wis. Ct. App.) rejected unconstrained ACV valuation and pointed to standard definitions, but did not decide labor depreciation.

Wisconsin OCI — Homeowner's Insurance consumer guide (defines ACV as replacement cost minus depreciation; no labor-depreciation rule)

Must insurers replace undamaged materials so the repair matches?

Not required

Wisconsin does not require matching, and the insurance regulator says so directly. A carrier may pay to repair only the damaged slope or area and is not obligated to replace undamaged shingles or siding so the work matches. If the homeowner wants a uniform appearance, it comes from their specific policy language or from their own pocket.

Authority

OCI consumer publication PI-232, "Frequently Asked Questions - Homeowner's Insurance," states that after wind damage the insurer is required to pay to replace the damaged part of the roof but is not required to replace the undamaged part, and that for siding the insurer pays only for the damaged portion and is not obligated to ensure the replacement matches. Wis. Admin. Code Ins 6.11 lists Wisconsin's unfair claim settlement practices; none addresses matching or line of sight. Wis. Stat. § 632.05(1) requires only "new materials of like size, kind and quality" on a replacement-cost settlement, with no uniform-appearance mandate. Wisconsin did not adopt NAIC MDL-902 § 9.A(2).

WI OCI Publication PI-232 - Homeowner's Insurance FAQ (verified: insurer pays only damaged roof portion; not obligated to match siding) · Wis. Admin. Code Ins 6.11 - Unfair claim settlement practices (verified: no matching/line-of-sight provision) · Wis. Stat. 632.05 - Property insurance replacement cost, 'like size, kind and quality' (no uniform-appearance mandate)

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

Prohibited

Wisconsin bans deductible rebating by statute, and bans advertising it as well. You may not promise to pay, absorb, or rebate any part of a homeowner's property insurance deductible as an incentive to sign a roofing or exterior contract. The compliant path is to bill the carrier the price you actually charge and let the homeowner pay their deductible, financing it over time if they need to.

You may

Bill the carrier the price you actually charge
Offer a payment plan or financing for the deductible
Give a genuine, disclosed discount off your real price
Tell the homeowner the carrier then pays proportionally less
Provide the required pre-contract disclosures
Honor the 3-business-day cancellation right after a claim denial

You may not

Promise to pay, absorb, or rebate any part of the deductible
Advertise "we cover your deductible" or "no out-of-pocket cost"
Advertise a "free roof"
Inflate the estimate to bury the deductible in the claim
Bill the carrier a price you never intend to collect
Use a fake "discount" or credit that only offsets the deductible

Penalty: Civil forfeiture of $500 to $1,000 per violation.

Authority

Wis. Stat. § 100.65(2) provides that no residential contractor may, including in any advertisement, promise to pay or rebate all or any portion of a property insurance deductible as an incentive to a consumer entering a contract for roof or exterior work. The advertising ban is independent of whether any work is performed. Section 100.65(3) through (7) impose pre-contract disclosure requirements and a 3-business-day cancellation right tied to the insurer's denial of the claim. Section 100.65(9) sets the penalty at a forfeiture of not less than $500 nor more than $1,000 for each violation. This is a ch. 100 trade-practice violation, not a criminal offense.

Wis. Stat. § 100.65 — Residential contractors (Wisconsin Legislature official statutes)

Can a contractor negotiate the homeowner's claim?

Prohibited

Wisconsin bars a residential contractor from representing a homeowner or negotiating on the homeowner's behalf on a roof or exterior insurance claim, and from offering or advertising to do either. The statute protects your own work: with the insured's express consent you may prepare your estimate, submit it to the carrier, and discuss repair options with the adjuster. The line is your own scope and price, which is yours to defend, versus acting as the homeowner's claim representative, which is not.

You may

Discuss the damage with the homeowner
Discuss the damage with the carrier's representative
Prepare an estimate for your scope of work
Submit that estimate, revised or supplemental, to the carrier
Discuss repair and replacement options with the adjuster
Get the insured's express consent before any of the above

You may not

Represent the homeowner on the insurance claim
Negotiate the settlement on the homeowner's behalf
Offer or advertise to represent or negotiate for the homeowner
Advertise as a claim specialist or that you handle the insurance company
Take compensation from the homeowner to advise on claim negotiations
Take an assignment or power of attorney to work the claim

Penalty: Civil forfeiture of $500 to $1,000 per violation.

Authority

Wis. Stat. § 100.65(8) prohibits a residential contractor from representing, or offering or advertising to represent, a consumer, and from negotiating, or offering or advertising to negotiate, on a consumer's behalf on any insurance claim related to repair or replacement of a roof system or exterior work on residential real estate. Subsections (8)(a) and (8)(b) carve out, with the insured's express consent, discussing the damage with the insured or the carrier's representative, and providing the insured an estimate, submitting that estimate to the carrier, and discussing repair options with the insured or the carrier's representative. "Residential contractor" is defined at § 100.65(1)(d) to include anyone contracting with a consumer to repair or replace a roof system or perform other exterior work on residential real estate. Section 100.65(9) sets the forfeiture at $500 to $1,000 per violation. Wisconsin has no public adjuster license. Chapter 628 licenses only intermediaries (§§ 628.03-628.12) and navigators (§§ 628.90-628.98). Conduct is regulated instead as an unfair trade practice under Wis. Admin. Code § Ins 6.08, which implements § 628.34(11) and (12). Ins 6.08(3)(b) defines a claimant representative as a non-attorney compensated by a claimant to represent or advise the claimant in negotiations to settle a claim against an insurer, and expressly excludes a person whose sole service is providing an estimate or appraisal for repairs. Estimating is not adjusting in Wisconsin. Two consequences. There is no licensing path that would let a roofer negotiate claims here. And Ins 6.08(5)(c) bars a claimant representative from operating as a repair contractor or participating in claim payments to a repair contractor, so the two roles are mutually exclusive; you cannot cure the § 100.65(8) problem by taking a paid claim-representation role.

Wis. Stat. § 100.65 — Residential contractors (official Legislature text; verified subs. (1)(d) definition, (8) ban and carve-outs, (9) forfeiture) · Wis. Admin. Code § Ins 6.08 — Claimant representatives (WI's public-adjuster conduct rule; verified estimate-only carve-out at (3)(b) and contractor bar at (5)(c)) · Wis. Stat. ch. 628 — Insurance Marketing (verified subchapter index: licenses intermediaries and navigators only; no public-adjuster license section) · Wis. Stat. § 628.34 — Unfair marketing practices (enabling authority for Ins 6.08, per Ins 6.08(1))

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