Do you pay the insurance deductible up front?
Short answer. Not to the insurer. On a home claim, the insurer subtracts the deductible from your payment, and you pay that amount to the contractor doing the work at the point your contract sets, which may be at signing, at material delivery or at completion. Nothing has to be paid before the adjuster inspects.
How the subtraction works
Suppose the approved roof estimate is $12,000 with a $2,000 deductible. On a replacement cost policy, the insurer's payments total $10,000. The roofer's price is $12,000, so the remaining $2,000 is your share. The deductible is not a fee you send anywhere. It is the gap between the price and what insurance pays. On an actual cash value roof your share is larger, because the depreciation is never paid; the price does not change, only how much of it the insurer covers.
When the contractor collects it
- At signing, as part of a deposit.
- When materials arrive or work begins, together with the first insurance check.
- At completion, with the final payment.
Any of these is fine when it is written in the contract. Be wary of large cash demands before the claim is approved.
Things that change the timing
- A mortgage company holding the insurance money may release it in stages, but your deductible is due on the contractor's schedule.
- If a different contractor handles interior repairs, the deductible still applies only once, so agree on which contractor collects it.
What it cannot be
Waived, rebated or absorbed. That is illegal for contractors in Georgia. See can a roofer pay your deductible and mortgage company insurance checks.