Storm-Damage Roofing Contracts in Tennessee: What the Law Requires

The law

Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 62, Chapter 6, Part 6, "Residential Roofing Services", sections 62-6-601 to 62-6-606. It applies to a "residential roofing services provider", which is any person contracting to repair or replace a roof on a residence, licensed or not, when the work is expected to be paid from a property insurance claim.

What it gives you

A right to cancel after the insurer says no

If you sign a roofing contract and then receive written notice from your insurer that all or part of the claim is not a covered loss, you may cancel the contract. You have until midnight on the third business day after you receive that notice, and you cancel by giving the roofer written notice. (Section 62-6-602.)

A written statement of that right, before you sign

Before entering the contract the roofer must give you a detailed description of the damage or repairs to be claimed, and where the damage is, together with a written statement in substantially these words (section 62-6-603):

"You may cancel this contract at any time before midnight on the third business day after you have received written notification from your insurer that all or any part of the claim or contract is not a covered loss under your insurance policy."

If a roofer's paperwork has no such statement, the roofer is not following the law, whatever else is on the page.

Your money back

If you cancel, payments you made must be returned within ten business days of the roofer receiving your cancellation, except payment for emergency repairs the roofer has already performed. (Section 62-6-603.)

Limits on when the roofer can take payment

Section 62-6-604 restricts a roofer from demanding or accepting payment on an insurance-funded job until the insurer has confirmed coverage or the cancellation window has run. The practical rule: a storm roofer asking for a deposit before your adjuster has ruled is asking for something the statute does not let them take.

What the law does not do

It does not license roofers, set prices, or make your insurer pay. It does not stop a roofer from offering to "handle the claim for you"; that is a separate question, and in Tennessee an unlicensed person negotiating your claim with the insurer can be practising public adjusting without a licence. It does not give you a cancellation right if the insurer approves the claim; at that point the contract is a contract.

What to do with a storm roofer at the door

1. Take the card. Do not sign anything the same day. The statute's cancellation right only helps after a denial; it does not undo a contract the insurer later approves.
2. Look up the licence. Read the address. If the job will be $25,000 or more, the licence must be active with a roofing classification.
3. Call your insurer first and let the adjuster inspect before anyone but a tarp touches the roof. The Department of Commerce and Insurance's own advice is to make temporary repairs to prevent further damage and no permanent repairs until the insurer has inspected and agreed the cost.
4. Get the 62-6-603 statement and the damage description in writing, and keep the insurer's letter. Both dates matter.
5. Never sign over the insurance cheque, and never pay in full before the work is done and inspected.