October 30th, 2025. Jonesboro, Arkansas. William and Melissa Herren, owners of Allstar Restoration, were arrested and charged with running a criminal enterprise. Their bond? $250,000 cash only. Each.
They defrauded more than 50 homeowners out of over $250,000. And you know what their sales reps told those homeowners when they knocked on their doors? The same thing storm chasers have been saying all over DFW for years.
“We’ll handle everything. You won’t pay a penny out of pocket.”
That sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Free roof. No hassle. Someone else deals with the insurance company. Sign here.
Except here’s the thing. In Texas, that offer is not just a scam. It’s a crime.
And if you accept it, you could be prosecuted too.
Texas HB 2102 Made It ILLEGAL to Waive Your Deductible
September 1st, 2019. That’s the day Texas House Bill 2102 went into effect. And that’s the day it became illegal for any contractor to waive, pay, absorb, rebate, credit, offset, or help you avoid paying your insurance deductible.
Not “frowned upon.” Not “against industry standards.” Illegal.
The law is crystal clear. It added Chapter 707 to the Texas Insurance Code. Section 707.002 says you MUST pay your deductible for any first-party property claim. No exceptions. No waivers. Period.
And Section 27.02 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code makes it a Class B Misdemeanor for any contractor to knowingly help you avoid paying that deductible.
What does Class B Misdemeanor mean?
Up to $2,000 in fines. Up to 180 days in county jail. And if the fraud amount is high enough, it can escalate to a felony charge.
That’s for the contractor. But don’t think you’re off the hook just because you didn’t know the law. Homeowners who knowingly participate in deductible fraud can be prosecuted too.
Think about it. Is saving $7,000 on your deductible worth six months in jail and a criminal record?
Real People Are Going to Jail for This Right Now
I’m not making this up to scare you. This is happening. Right now. To real people. In our region.
Jonesboro, Arkansas (October 2025): Allstar Restoration. Over 50 victims. $250,000 stolen. Door-to-door sales reps convinced homeowners to sign contracts and sign over their insurance checks. The reps promised work would be done in 4 to 6 weeks. The work was never completed. William Herren used the business checks to pay rent on his expensive home. Multiple roofing subcontractors were owed more than $50,000. Sales reps had their paychecks bounce. The owners now face charges of continuing a criminal enterprise.
Livingston Parish, Louisiana (October 2024): Zechariah “Zack” Moore, field representative for Roofing Guys LLC. He didn’t just scam homeowners. He intentionally damaged their roofs during “free inspections.” Then he told homeowners they could “get a new roof for only the cost of their deductible.” He was arrested and charged with damage to property with intent to defraud. The Louisiana Department of Insurance issued a cease and desist order against Roofing Guys LLC. The Insurance Commissioner said Moore “posed a danger to public health, safety, and welfare.”
Do you see what happened there? He told homeowners they’d only pay the deductible. That was the bait. The crime.
Fort Worth, Texas (2025): Christopher and Raquelle Judge, owners of Judge DFW LLC. They pled guilty to wire fraud conspiracy. They stole nearly $5 million from custom home building and remodeling clients. They operated for two and a half years before prosecutors caught up with them.
And let’s not forget the case I already wrote about. A DFW roofer sentenced to 8 years in prison for scamming homeowners.
Eight. Years.
This is not a slap on the wrist. This is not a civil fine you pay and move on. People are going to prison.
How the Scam Actually Works (And Why You Fall for It)
Storm season hits. Hail damages half the roofs in your neighborhood. Within 48 hours, the door knockers show up.
They’re friendly. They’re helpful. They tell you they’re in the neighborhood doing work. They offer a “free inspection.” You say yes because why not? It’s free.
They get up on your roof. They come down and tell you that you have significant hail damage. They pull out their tablet and show you pictures. They say your insurance will cover it. They say filing a claim is complicated and insurance companies try to deny coverage. They say “We handle this all the time. Let us take care of everything for you.”
Then they pull out a contract. A contingency agreement. They tell you it’s standard. It says they’ll represent you with the insurance company. It says they’ll do the work once the claim is approved. It says you won’t pay anything upfront.
What it doesn’t say is how much the roof will cost. What products they’ll use. What their labor rate is. Nothing in writing.
I’ve been warning you about these contingency agreements for years. They are NOT legal contracts in Texas. They are mental agreements dependent on insurance approval. But homeowners sign them anyway because the sales person is standing in their living room and they feel pressure.
You sign. The contractor calls your insurance company. They meet with your adjuster without you there. The insurance company approves the claim and sends a check. Let’s say your home is insured for $350,000. Your deductible is 2 percent. That’s $7,000 you’re supposed to pay out of pocket.
But the contractor tells you “Don’t worry about the deductible. We’ll take care of it.”
That sounds great, right?
Here’s what actually happens. Your roof should cost $18,000 to replace. But the contractor bills your insurance company $25,000. They inflate the costs. They charge for work they don’t do. They say they’re installing premium shingles and they install contractor-grade garbage. They pocket the difference. And that difference? That covers your “waived” deductible and then some.
Your insurance company pays the inflated bill. The contractor disappears. And six months later, your roof is leaking because the work was garbage.
But wait. It gets worse.
You’re Not Saving Money. You’re Stealing from Yourself.
Let’s talk about what happens when thousands of contractors across DFW are doing this scam.
Insurance companies are not stupid. They track their claims data. They see the pattern. They see that roof replacement costs in DFW are 30 percent higher than the actual cost of materials and labor. They see claim frequency going up because homeowners have no financial stake in the decision.
So what do they do?
They raise your premiums.
That $7,000 deductible the contractor “waived” for you? Over the next 10 years, you’re going to pay $3,000 to $5,000 MORE in insurance premiums because fraud like this drives up costs for everyone.
You didn’t save $7,000. You just delayed paying it and added interest.
And you’re not just paying for your own fraud. You’re paying for every other homeowner who fell for the same scam. Every inflated claim. Every fake roof that never got installed. Every storm chaser who billed $30,000 for $15,000 of work.
It is your insurance money. I’ve said that in at least six different blog posts. But when contractors commit fraud with your claim, it’s not just your money anymore. It’s everyone’s money. And we all pay the price.
Both the Contractor AND the Homeowner Can Be Prosecuted
Here’s the part most homeowners don’t know.
The Texas Department of Insurance can go after both the contractor and the homeowner.
Why? Because when you knowingly participate in insurance fraud, you’re an accomplice. You filed the claim. You’re the policyholder. You signed the paperwork. And when the insurance company investigates, guess who they come after?
You.
The contractor is long gone. Out of state. Out of business. Nowhere to be found. But you? You’re right there. In the house. With your name on the policy.
Your claim gets denied. Your insurance gets canceled. You get flagged in the insurance industry database. Good luck getting coverage after that. And if the fraud amount is high enough, you face criminal charges too.
Is that really worth a “free roof”?
Have you lost your mind? Stop being crazy. It is your house!
What the Law Requires (And What You Need to Know)
Texas Insurance Code Chapter 707 is not complicated. Let me break it down for you.
Section 707.002: You must pay your deductible. No exceptions.
Section 707.004: Your insurance company can ask for proof you paid your deductible before they release the full payment. Acceptable proof includes a canceled check, money order receipt, credit card statement, or financing agreement.
Section 707.006: Violations have penalties. For contractors, that’s fines and jail time. For homeowners, that’s claim denial, policy cancellation, and potential prosecution.
And here’s the kicker. If your contract is for $1,000 or more and involves an insurance settlement, the contract MUST include this written notice:
“The policyholder is required to pay the deductible stated in their insurance policy.”
If the contract doesn’t have that notice, the contractor is already violating the law before they even start the scam.
Storm Season Is Coming. They’ll Be Knocking on Your Door.
Spring is almost here. Hail season in DFW. You know what that means.
Storm chasers. Flooding in from out of state. Driving through neighborhoods with hail damage. Knocking on every door. Running the same scam they’ve been running for 20 years.
The only difference now is that it’s been illegal since 2019. And they don’t care.
They’ll still tell you they can handle your claim. They’ll still promise no out-of-pocket costs. They’ll still pressure you to sign a contingency agreement on the spot. They’ll still tell you that you’re getting a great deal.
And if you don’t know the law, you’ll believe them.
That’s why I’m writing this. Not to sell you a roof. To warn you. Because I’ve been screaming about storm chasers and middleman contractors and insurance scams for years. And now the law backs me up.
What to Do If a Contractor Offers to Waive Your Deductible
If a contractor tells you they’ll waive your deductible, here’s what you do.
Step 1: Say no. Tell them you know it’s illegal under Texas HB 2102.
Step 2: Ask them to leave.
Step 3: Report them to the Texas Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-621-0508. You can also report them to the Texas Department of Insurance Fraud Unit. Anonymous reporting is available.
Step 4: Tell your neighbors. Share this article. Warn them. Stop the scam before it spreads.
Do not feel bad about reporting them. They are committing a crime. They are trying to make YOU an accomplice. And if they’re doing it to you, they’re doing it to 50 other homeowners on your street.
What to Do Instead (The Legal, Honest Way)
Filing an insurance claim is not hard. I’ve written an entire post on how to file your claim yourself. It’s a 5-minute phone call. That’s it. You don’t need a contractor to “handle” it for you.
Here’s the process:
- Call your insurance company. Tell them you have storm damage. They’ll send an adjuster.
- Meet the adjuster yourself. Do NOT let a contractor be there. I’ve warned you about this before. If a contractor is at the meeting, they’ll negotiate themselves a bigger payout and you’ll never know.
- Get your claim approved. The insurance company will send you paperwork showing what they’ll pay.
- Get written estimates from local roofers. Not door knockers. Not storm chasers. Local companies with a physical address you can verify. Written estimates will speak volumes. If a contractor refuses to give you a written estimate upfront, walk away. That’s your red flag.
- Compare the estimates. Look at materials. Look at labor warranty length. A 20-year leak-free labor workmanship warranty means something. A one-year warranty means they’ll be gone before the problems start.
- Choose your roofer. Sign a contract that clearly states the price, the products, the timeline, and the warranty.
- Pay your deductible. Yes, you have to pay it. It’s the law. But here’s what most homeowners don’t realize. You get to keep any leftover insurance money. That’s YOUR money. Not the contractor’s. Yours. And if you buy direct from a real roofer instead of a middleman, you’ll save thousands.
- Keep proof of payment. Canceled check, credit card statement, whatever. Your insurance company may ask for it.
That’s it. No scam. No fraud. No risk of prosecution. Just the honest way.
HonestRoof Does It the Right Way (And We’ve Been Doing It Since 1954)
We don’t waive deductibles. We don’t run scams. We don’t use contingency agreements. We don’t pressure you to sign anything.
We give you a written estimate upfront. We tell you exactly what products we’ll use. We tell you exactly what the labor will cost. We answer your questions. And we back our work with a 20-year leak-free labor workmanship warranty.
Why 20 years? Because we’re still going to be here in 20 years. We’ve been doing business in DFW since 1954. Three generations of the Harrison family. We’re not storm chasers. We’re not fly-by-night middlemen. We’re roofers. Hands-on roofers who install every shingle with our own backs and two hands.
And we follow the law. You pay your deductible. As required by Texas Insurance Code Chapter 707. We don’t inflate your claim. We don’t commit fraud. We don’t put you at risk.
We just install roofs. The honest way.
The Bottom Line
If a contractor offers to waive your deductible, they are breaking the law. Period.
Texas HB 2102 made it illegal in 2019. The penalties are real. People are going to jail. And if you participate, you could be prosecuted too.
Storm season is coming. The door knockers are coming with it. Know the law before they show up. And when they knock, tell them no.
Your insurance money is your money. Your deductible is your responsibility. And your roof is too important to trust to a criminal.
Want to see what a real roof estimate looks like? No pressure. No scams. No waived deductibles. Just honest pricing and a 20-year warranty.
Call HonestRoof at 817-HONEST-1 or text ESTIMATE to 817-966-2863.
Know someone who needs to read this? Share this article. You might save them from making a $7,000 mistake. Or worse.
Dennis Harrison has been installing roofs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area since he was 13 years old. HonestRoof has been serving DFW homeowners since 1954. For more information about insurance claims, roofing scams, and how to protect yourself, visit our blog archive or read our post on the 15 dirty secrets roofing companies don’t want you to know.
