Fighting for Roofer’s First Amendment Rights

By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter. 

Insurance and roofing continue to strive to find the right balance in Stonewater Roofing v. Texas Department of Insurance. Learn all about it in this episode of Roofing Road Trips. 

In Episode 29, Season 4 of Roofing Road Trips, Heidi J. Ellsworth meets with Stonewater Roofing for a conversation about their lawsuit against the Texas Department of Insurance. The company, lead by Roland Browne and Jacob Law, is a family owned and operated business. They are working to insure the first amendment right for all contractors.  

“We started in 2010, October 7, and here we are 12 years later, fighting the good fight. It's been a long journey. The company has been growing exponentially since our inception. We've got some roadblocks that we need to clear out of the way, not only for Stonewater but for everyone else,” says Roland Browne. “In short, we became involved in a lawsuit.”  

“We had one word in our contract, and it said that the customer was going to allow us to negotiate with insurance. And on our website, it said that we would help them through the process,” explains Jacob Law. “They had taken those things and essentially wanted to null and void the entire contract after the roof is done, not pay their balance, and now get damages. And they sued us based on those statutes.” 

In 2005, the Texas Legislature enacted provisions under the insurance code regulating "public insurance adjusting." Public insurance adjusters are frequently hired by an insured to help resolve and settle insurance claims. The enacted provisions provide that a public insurance adjuster must be licensed in order to adjust insurance claims on an insured's behalf. Under these provisions, any person or entity defined as a contractor is prohibited from adjusting insurance claims for properties at which the contractor is, or will be, providing contracting services. 

Now, Stonewater is fighting for the right for roofers to talk to their customers about how they are covered for roofing repairs.  

“If you dig into the current Unlicensed Practice of Public Adjustment (UPPA) rules as they're written in Texas, I can't speak for the nation, they're quite inhibiting. In my opinion, they do more harm to the policyholder than good,” says Roland.  

You won’t want to miss this groundbreaking episode of Roofing Road Trips! Listen to the podcast to learn more about the lawsuit and Stonewater’s story. 

Learn more about Stonewater Roofing in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit stonewaterroofing.com.