4.4 Special Rules: Rooftop Solar and Insurance-Claim Work

Rooftop Solar: The Wildlife-Intrusion Barrier Mandate

Effective June 1, 2024, §8-501 added a requirement aimed squarely at the booming residential solar market. Every home improvement contract for the installation of rooftop solar panels must include a wildlife-intrusion barrier — screening or similar protection, installed around the array perimeter, that meets industry standards for keeping squirrels, birds, raccoons, and other animals from nesting under the panels.

The problem the law addresses is real: the shaded gap between a rooftop array and the shingles is ideal nesting habitat, and animal damage to wiring is a leading cause of system failures and even roof fires. Before the mandate, barriers were an often-skipped upsell; now they are the default content of the contract.

Note the effective date and the scope. The requirement applies to contracts for rooftop solar panel installation — the exam may try to extend it to ground-mounted arrays or to contracts signed before June 1, 2024. Contracts signed before the effective date are governed by the law in force when they were made.

The Waiver

The barrier is mandatory unless the customer waives it after being informed of the cost of the barrier and the risks of not having one. This is informed consent, not a checkbox. The Commission recommends that the waiver documentation show:

• The price of the barrier, so the customer sees exactly what is being declined;
• An explanation of the risks of proceeding without it (nesting, wire damage, fire hazard); and
• The customer's initials, evidencing that the waiver was knowing and specific.

For the exam, remember the structure: barrier included by default → waiver permitted → waiver valid only after the customer is told the cost and the risks. A solar contract signed on or after June 1, 2024 that simply omits any mention of a barrier — with no waiver — violates the statute. A contract that mentions the waiver option but never prices the barrier or explains the risks has not obtained the informed waiver the law requires.

Insurance-Claim Work: Contractor Versus Public Adjuster

Storm damage drives an enormous share of Maryland roofing and siding work, and it puts contractors in constant contact with insurance companies. The law draws a bright line here, and crossing it is unlicensed practice:

An MHIC license does NOT authorize acting as a public adjuster. A public adjuster is a person who, for compensation, represents the policyholder in preparing, presenting, or negotiating an insurance claim — and that activity is regulated by the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA), not MHIC.

What the Contractor MAY Do

• Prepare a repair estimate — inspect the damage, scope the work, and price it.
• Answer the insurer's questions about that estimate — explain line items, discuss materials and methods, and respond when the carrier's adjuster asks why a particular repair is necessary.

What the Contractor May NOT Do (without an MIA license)

• Prepare or negotiate the insurance claim itself — assembling the claim, arguing its value against the policy, or pushing the carrier toward a settlement figure.
• Advise the homeowner on coverage — interpreting what the policy covers, whether a loss is insured, or what the homeowner is entitled to recover.

The distinction the exam tests is estimate versus claim: the estimate is the contractor's professional opinion about the construction work; the claim is the homeowner's demand under the insurance policy. Discussing the former with the insurer is fine. Handling the latter is adjusting, and adjusting without an MIA license is unlawful regardless of how experienced the contractor is.

Why does the state care? Because claim negotiation involves interpreting an insurance contract — a financial product with its own licensing regime — and because a contractor negotiating the claim has a built-in conflict of interest: the bigger the claim, the bigger the contractor's job. The MIA licensing line keeps claim advocacy in the hands of regulated adjusters who owe duties to the policyholder.

Worked Scenario

After a hailstorm, a roofing contractor inspects a home and writes a $14,500 replacement estimate. The insurer's adjuster calls with questions about the decking replacement line item; the contractor explains the rot found on a neighboring tear-off and why full decking replacement is priced in. All of that is lawful. But when the homeowner then asks, 'Will my policy cover code upgrades, and should I push back on their depreciation holdback?' — answering those questions is coverage advice and claim negotiation. Unless the contractor separately holds an MIA public adjuster license, the lawful answer is to refer the homeowner to the insurer or to a licensed public adjuster.

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