The Roofing Advertising Allowance

The most common vehicle an untrustworthy contractor uses to cover or hide a deductible is by placing his sign in your yard and paying you a “sign allowance.”

In exchange for his yard sign on your property, you get a hefty discount on your job. A discount you can not tell your insurance carrier about, because well they just would not understand. And it is really not a discount, after all, it is hard-earned advertising dollars…right?

Certainly there is nothing wrong from receiving compensation in exchange for something. A contractor certainly may pay a fee to place his sign in your yard. What you can not do is simply pull some number out of the air.

What is the true value of a “sign allowance”? The true value of a sign allowance is what being paid without the purchase of a roof! Smaller billboards across town may rent for $1,000.00 a month with tens of thousands viewing it. So now someone is offering you $1,500.00 so a dozen or so neighbors may view a small yard sign?

If this were proper, people would never pay for most home repairs. $300.00 service call from the plumber…no, just let him put a sign in your yard. $500.00 to the electrician….no, just put another sign in the yard. Of course this is ridiculous, yet there are hundreds of low end roofers telling you their sign allowance is perfectly legit (just don’t tell your insurance carrier).

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck….it is a yard sign allowance? Don’t deceive yourself. The yard sign allowance is a scam to improperly avoid a deductible. They are always contingent on you buying a roof and must be hidden from your insurance provider.