Homeowners Caucus
News & Updates

The Fight, Reported.

Court rulings, legislative alerts, and advocacy updates on the effort to protect homeowners' right to contractor assistance after storm damage.

FeaturedFederal Courts

Eighth Circuit Remands Iowa Roofer Speech Case for Strict Scrutiny

A federal appeals court found that Iowa's contractor communication law 'regulated speech as speech,' sending the case back for the highest level of constitutional review. The insurance industry's legal strategy is under serious pressure.

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed the district court's dismissal of an as-applied First Amendment challenge to Iowa's restrictions on roofing contractor speech, remanding the case for strict scrutiny review — the highest constitutional standard.

The case, brought by Shamrock Hills Roofing, challenged Iowa statutes that prohibited the contractor from telling homeowners it could help them navigate the insurance claims process in the aftermath of storm damage.

The Eighth Circuit found that Iowa had 'regulated speech as speech' — a finding that triggers strict scrutiny rather than the more deferential rational basis review the state had argued for. The court held that the district court's failure to analyze how Iowa actually applied the statutes to the contractor 'was error.'

The court quoted directly from First Amendment precedent: 'The First Amendment is no word game. And the rights it protects cannot be renamed away or their protections nullified by mere labels.' The ruling is a significant setback for the insurance industry's legal theory that these restrictions regulate professional conduct rather than speech.

State Legislation

Model Legislation Advances in Three More States

Insurance industry-backed contractor speech restriction bills are moving through committees in Florida, Texas, and Colorado. Homeowners Caucus is tracking each bill and mobilizing opposition.

Insurance industry trade groups are advancing model contractor speech restriction legislation in at least three additional states this session, according to legislative tracking by Homeowners Caucus.

The bills follow a template that has already been enacted in Iowa, Florida, and Louisiana — prohibiting roofing contractors from offering to assist homeowners with the insurance claims process in the immediate aftermath of a storm.

Homeowners Caucus is coordinating opposition testimony in each state and urging homeowners to contact their representatives before committee votes.

Analysis

What Happens When Your Roofer Can't Talk to You After a Storm

We spoke with homeowners in Iowa who filed storm damage claims without contractor guidance. The results — underpaid claims, denied appeals, and months of delays — illustrate exactly what these laws are designed to produce.

In the two years since Iowa enacted its contractor speech restrictions, homeowners filing storm damage claims have reported a consistent pattern: without contractor guidance, they accepted initial insurer assessments that later proved to be significantly below the actual cost of repair.

Homeowners Caucus spoke with twelve Iowa homeowners who filed claims after the 2025 hail season. Ten reported that their initial claim settlement was challenged — and in nine of those cases, the final settlement was higher than the original offer, in some cases by more than 40 percent.

The pattern is not accidental. When a roofer is prohibited from advising a homeowner on the claims process, the homeowner enters negotiations with the insurer without the one professional who has physically inspected the damage and knows what repair actually costs.

Advocacy

Homeowners Caucus Submits Testimony in Colorado Committee Hearing

Homeowners Caucus submitted written testimony opposing Colorado HB 26-1142, which would restrict roofing contractors from discussing the insurance claims process with homeowners following storm damage.

Homeowners Caucus submitted formal written testimony to the Colorado House Business Affairs and Labor Committee opposing HB 26-1142, a bill that would impose civil fines on roofing contractors who offer to assist homeowners with the insurance claims process.

The testimony cited the Eighth Circuit's recent ruling in the Iowa case, arguing that Colorado's proposed legislation faces the same constitutional infirmity: it regulates speech as speech, targeting the content of what a contractor may say to a homeowner rather than any fraudulent conduct.

The committee hearing is scheduled for September. Homeowners Caucus is urging Colorado homeowners to contact their representatives and submit public comment before the deadline.

Analysis

The Insurance Industry's Lobbying Playbook, Explained

How insurance trade groups draft model legislation, recruit state sponsors, and move identical bills through multiple state legislatures in the same session — and what homeowners can do about it.

The contractor speech restriction bills advancing in states across the country are not independently conceived by state legislators. They follow a model drafted and distributed by insurance industry trade associations — a lobbying strategy that allows the industry to advance identical policy in multiple states simultaneously.

The model legislation is typically introduced by a legislator with significant insurance industry campaign contributions, assigned to a committee where industry allies hold key positions, and moved quickly before organized homeowner opposition can form.

Understanding this playbook is the first step to defeating it. Homeowners Caucus tracks bill introductions in real time and alerts members when industry-backed legislation is introduced in their state.

Federal Courts

First Amendment Scholars File Amicus Brief Supporting Contractor Speech Rights

A coalition of First Amendment law professors has filed an amicus brief in the Iowa case, arguing that contractor speech restrictions fail strict scrutiny and set a dangerous precedent for professional speech regulation.

A group of fourteen First Amendment law professors from universities across the country filed an amicus curiae brief in the Shamrock Hills Roofing case, supporting the contractor's constitutional challenge to Iowa's speech restrictions.

The brief argues that the Iowa statutes represent a category of professional speech regulation that the Supreme Court has consistently subjected to heightened scrutiny — and that the insurance industry's framing of contractor assistance as 'professional conduct' rather than speech is precisely the kind of 'mere label' the First Amendment prohibits.

The amicus brief strengthens the constitutional record in the case and signals that the legal community views the Iowa statutes as a significant First Amendment issue with implications beyond the roofing industry.

Press

Press & Media Inquiries

Homeowners Caucus is available for comment on insurance industry legislation, contractor speech restrictions, and homeowner advocacy. Contact our communications team.

[email protected]

Informed. Now Take Action.

Sign the petition, contact your legislators, and share the issue with your neighbors.

Take Action Now