How Insurance Changed Roofing – and Why the Industry Is Due for a Reset
My first real exposure to the roofing industry was in 1994, in the town I grew up in -Marshalltown, Iowa. I started out on the installation crew, and I loved it. Back then, my older brother handled all the sales, which meant I didn’t know much about brands (we mostly installed GAF), and I didn’t know anything about insurance work.
To be honest, neither did my brother.
We replaced roofs because they needed to be replaced. They had reached the end of their useful lives. It was time. Simple.
Learning Roofing Before Insurance Took Over
When we moved to Texas in 2000, I entered a roofing environment that was completely different from what I had known. I had no understanding of the insurance industry or how deeply it affected roofing here.
Most of what I know today, I learned the hard way – by meeting insurance adjusters on job sites and asking questions. And, for the most part, they were incredibly generous with their time and knowledge. They taught me what hail damage actually looks like, what a blister is, how supplements work, how to read a claim. I learned a lot from them, and I’ll always be grateful for that.
At that time, insurance was just part of the process – not the driver of the industry.
The 2016 Hailstorm: The Gold Rush Moment
Then came 2016.
A massive hailstorm hit San Antonio, producing baseball- to softball-sized hail, and it permanently changed roofing in Central Texas. Overnight, new roofing companies started popping up everywhere. And honestly? There was plenty of work to go around.
My company started in 2016 like many others. In my case, it was because my brother and I went sideways and essentially went through a professional divorce. But many of the companies that launched around that time were born out of the gold rush that followed the storm.
Roofing in Texas: Shockingly Easy to Enter
Here’s something most homeowners don’t realize:
Becoming a roofer in Texas is exceedingly easy.
All you have to do is say, “I am a roofer.”
That’s it.
There’s no test. No licensing. No apprenticeship. No background checks. No trade school. Roofing has incredibly low barriers to entry, and that makes it very attractive – especially to disgruntled employees (like I once was), smooth-talking salespeople, and people chasing fast money.
Hot-shot contractors make it look easy. And like moths to a flame, people follow.
How Insurance (and Roofing) Drifted Off Course
Insurance was designed to protect homeowners from large, unforeseen disasters. That was the intent. But over time, both the insurance industry and the roofing industry developed systems that encouraged greed and abuse.
Independent adjusters are often paid a percentage of the claims they write. That pay structure has always seemed crazy to me, but that’s the reality. The more they approve, the more they earn.
That creates risk.
Unlike roofers, adjusters are licensed. If they’re audited and found to have approved false damage, they can lose not only their job, but their license. I’ve had adjusters say to me, “I’ll approve this, but I need it replaced before Monday.” That urgency isn’t about the homeowner – it’s about avoiding scrutiny.
This is also why large storm events matter. When claims are flooding in, audits become less likely. That’s why homeowners are often encouraged to file claims after major storms – it’s simply easier to get approval when the system is overwhelmed.
The Roofing Sales Formula Homeowners Don’t See
On the contractor side, some people figured out how to turn this into a numbers game.
If you knock on 10 doors, one homeowner will usually let you inspect their roof. Once one neighbor agrees, others often follow. If you tell every single homeowner to call in a claim – whether they have real damage or not – you can count on roughly 25% of those claims getting approved.
It becomes a formula.
Knock 40 doors in a day → get on 4 roofs → 1 claim approved.
Repeat that all week, and suddenly you have “a successful roofing business.”
The problem? This formula has nothing to do with what’s best for the homeowner.
To make matters worse, these salespeople are often not roofers. They know insurance – not construction. Once the contract is signed, they scramble to find a crew. They don’t know how to vet that crew, because they don’t know what quality looks like. No one inspects the finished roof. And six months later, when the next storm hits, they’re gone.
Who Pays the Price?
Everyone.
Roofing claims have skyrocketed over the last 10–15 years, and insurance companies have responded the only way they know how: reducing coverage and raising deductibles.
Deductibles that used to be $250–$1,000 are now commonly 1–3% of a home’s value. Around here, $2,500–$3,000 is average. I currently have a homeowner with a $21,000 deductible on a roof valued at $20,000 – which effectively means she has no roof coverage at all.
Insurance companies used to pay Replacement Cost Value (RCV). That meant if you installed a roof in 2007 and it was totaled today, they paid to replace it at today’s prices, minus your deductible.
Personally? I think that’s crazy.
My daughter drives a 2007 Volvo. If she totaled it, the insurance company wouldn’t buy her a 2025 Volvo. But with roofs, that’s exactly what we’ve expected – despite homeowners using most of the roof’s useful life.
So Where Do We Go From Here?
As a roofing contractor, it’s unsettling to watch the market shift so dramatically. But it’s also fascinating.
Storms are increasing – whether or not you believe in climate change. Even my home state of Iowa now experiences frequent hailstorms and even derechos. Insurance companies are already fighting back. Deductibles are rising. Policies are shifting to Actual Cash Value (ACV). Homeowners are being told to replace roofs at 10–15 years old or risk losing coverage.
Honestly? I think, long-term, this is a good thing.
If coverage tightens and deductibles rise, the corruption cycle slows. The “roofers” who are really just paperwork pushers will leave the industry. That’s better for legitimate contractors—but more importantly, it’s better for homeowners.
Why?
- Homeowners have a better chance of hiring a real roofing contractor who installs a quality roof.
- Insurance rates stabilize because fewer unnecessary claims are driving premiums up for everyone.
Time to Rein It In
Between the insurance industry and the roofing industry, we’ve created a monster child – and it’s raging out of control.
It’s time to rein it in.