What Is a Deductible?
A deductible is the fixed dollar amount (or percentage of insured value) the homeowner must pay toward a covered claim before the insurance company pays the remainder. Deductibles are set by the insurance policy and cannot be waived, discounted, or absorbed by the contractor. Any contractor who offers to waive your deductible is violating Texas insurance law.
Important Distinction
Note: Your wind/hail deductible is usually a percentage of your dwelling coverage, not a flat fee — so it pays to know whether your damage clears it before you file. No licensed roofing contractor in Texas can legally waive, cover, or absorb it, and Zilker Roofing does not: the deductible is set by your policy and paid by you, and we do not interpret your policy or handle your claim.
Dealing with this on your own roof? Call (512) 893-7663 or get an instant online quote — Zilker Roofing inspects before recommending. Honest assessment, no pressure.
Also Known As
These are the search terms and phrases that commonly refer to this topic, so you can find it however you describe it.
How Deductible Relates to Other Topics
A deductible is the homeowner's required out-of-pocket payment. Recoverable depreciation is withheld carrier funds that may be released after work completion. These are separate amounts.
The deductible is the homeowner’s out-of-pocket share of an insurance restoration claim; the carrier pays the approved scope above it.
Related To Deductible
The homeowner's policy deductible applies to an insurance-covered replacement and cannot be waived by the contractor.
Whether hail damage is worth a claim is arithmetic: the repair cost has to exceed your deductible before a claim makes financial sense. An inspection that documents the real extent of the damage is what makes that comparison possible.
Texas enacted HB 2102 in 2019 specifically to address roofing contractors offering to waive or absorb insurance deductibles - the 'free roof, we'll eat your deductible' pitch is the exact practice the statute exists to address.
On an insurance-paid replacement, the deductible is the homeowner's stated share of the total replacement cost.
An impact-resistant roofing discount lowers the premium a carrier charges, but it does not change the wind-hail deductible the policy applies when a storm claim is paid.
The filing decision turns on the arithmetic between documented damage and the deductible, and percentage deductibles mean that number comes from the policy's own terms, not from any general rule.
Texas wind/hail deductibles are often separate from the all-perils deductible and may be a percentage of the dwelling limit, which TDI illustrates as $7,500 on a $150,000 home at 5%.
The deductible is applied once against the claim total rather than against individual scope lines.
Questions about Deductible?
Zilker Roofing inspects before recommending. Honest assessment, no pressure.