Contracting · state insurance and licence law
The words a contractor cannot advertise.
Six of these 16 phrases are about somebody else’s deductible. “We waive your deductible”, “free roof”, “no cost to you”. Absorbing a deductible and billing the carrier as though it were paid is insurance fraud in many states, and it has its own statute in several of them.
The rest are the price superlatives and lifetime promises that draw complaints to a licensing board. Below is the full list the engine runs.
A screening tool, not legal advice. Your compliance officer or counsel has the last word.
6 of the 16
Somebody else’s deductible
The deductible is the insured’s obligation. A contractor absorbing it and billing the carrier as though it had been paid is fraud in many states, and advertising the offer is the part that is written down.
- we waive your deductible
- waive your deductible
- cover your deductible
- free roof
- no cost to you
- insurance will cover
6 of the 16
Price superlatives
A claim about every other quote in the market, including the ones you have not seen. It has to be substantiated against all of them or it is misleading.
- guaranteed lowest price
- we beat any quote
- lowest price
- lowest prices
- cheapest
- beat any price
4 of the 16
Promises longer than the business
A lifetime guarantee is only as long as the entity behind it. Name the term and who honours it.
- lifetime guarantee
- lifetime warranty
- guarantee
- guaranteed
What every piece has to carry
Refusals are half of it. The engine also checks that these are present, and flags a piece missing any of them:
- The contractor's licence number where the state requires one
A clean scan is not a compliant piece. Copy with none of the 16 phrases and none of these still fails.
The questions people ask first.
All nine rulebooks, 390 phrases, published in full →
Another trade? Real estate’s 167 → · Mortgage’s 51 →
Can a roofer offer to waive the deductible?
Absorbing an insured’s deductible and billing the carrier as though it had been paid is insurance fraud in many states, several of which address it by statute. Advertising the offer is the part that is written down and the part this engine refuses.
What is wrong with “lowest price”?
It is a claim about every other quote in the market, including the ones you have not seen. A superlative has to be substantiated against the whole market; a description does not.
Can I advertise a lifetime warranty?
Only with the term and the entity named. A lifetime guarantee is as long as the business behind it, and a reader will assume theirs.
What has to appear on every piece?
The contractor’s licence number, wherever the state requires one.
Run it on something you already published.
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