- Stay off the roof, stop the water spreading, photograph everything and tell your insurer promptly. Emergency make-safe work is normally covered.
- Insurers judge whether there was a storm from local weather records. Gusts of around 55 mph (48 knots) are the usual threshold, and heavy rain or hail can count.
- Wear and tear is excluded from every policy, so a maintained roof and an honest roofer's report decide most claims.
- Use a roofer you chose and keep the claim in your own name. Avoid door-knockers offering to handle it for you.
The first 24 hours
- Stay safe. Do not go on the roof. Do not go under anything that looks like it might come down. If water is near electrics, turn the circuit off at the consumer unit.
- Stop the water spreading. Buckets, towels, move furniture and electricals. Pierce a bulging ceiling with a screwdriver over a bucket rather than let it collapse.
- Photograph everything. The damage outside from the ground, the damage inside, the date and time. Photos of tiles in the garden. Screenshots of the weather warning if there was one.
- Make it safe and weather-tight. Call a roofer to sheet up or temporarily fix the roof. Insurers expect you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage, and emergency make-safe work is normally covered.
- Tell your insurer. Most policies want to be told promptly. Ask what they need from you and whether they want to send a loss adjuster before permanent repairs begin.
What counts as a storm
Most home insurance covers storm damage, but the policy usually does not define a storm and insurers look at the weather records for your postcode on the date. The Financial Ombudsman Service, which decides disputes between customers and insurers, has published the approach it takes: wind gusts of around 48 knots (55 mph) or more are generally accepted as storm conditions, and heavy rain or hail can count too. If the wind was below that, the insurer may argue the roof failed because of wear and tear, not weather.
That is why the roofer's report matters. A report that says the ridge tiles were torn off by wind is a different claim from one that says the mortar had failed years ago and the tiles were loose before the wind arrived.
Wear and tear: the exclusion that decides most claims
Every policy excludes damage caused by wear and tear, gradual deterioration and lack of maintenance. Storm damage claims on roofs turn on this point. If the storm removed sound tiles from a well-fixed roof, that is storm damage. If it removed tiles from a roof whose fixings had rusted through decades ago, the insurer will say the storm was just the last straw and decline.
You can improve your position considerably by keeping the roof maintained and by keeping the evidence: photos of the roof before, receipts for repairs, and a prompt, honest roofer's report after.
Roofline writes what we find. A report that overstates storm damage can be picked apart by a loss adjuster and costs you the claim. A report that accurately describes wind damage to a maintained roof gets paid.
What your insurer will ask for
- The date and time the damage happened or was discovered
- Photographs of the damage inside and out
- A roofer's report describing the damage and its cause
- A quote for the permanent repair, itemised
- Receipts for any emergency make-safe work
- Details of any previous claims or repairs to the roof
- Access for a loss adjuster if the claim is large
Roofline provides the report, the photographs and the itemised quote in a form that insurers are used to seeing.
Excess, betterment and matching
You pay the policy excess, often £100 to £350 for a standard claim. The insurer pays to reinstate what was damaged, not to improve it, so if a storm takes off a few ridge tiles they will pay to refix those, not to re-roof the house. Where the repair has to meet a current standard that the original did not, for example mechanically fixing a ridge that was only bedded, that is normally covered because it is the lawful way to do the repair, not a betterment.
If the covering cannot be matched because it is discontinued, discuss it with the insurer before work starts. Some policies cover matching, some do not.
The roofer's role, and what to avoid
After every big storm, vans appear on the estates offering to deal with your insurance claim for you. Some are legitimate. Some will inflate the claim, take the insurer's money and do a poor repair, and you are the policyholder who signed the form. Use a roofer you have chosen, get the report and quote in your own name, and deal with your insurer yourself or through a regulated loss assessor.
Roofline will make the roof safe quickly, document the damage honestly, quote the permanent repair and do it properly. We do not take over your claim. For repairs generally see our roof repairs page.
This guide is general information about roofing in England and is not a substitute for advice about your own roof. Standards and regulations are updated from time to time; check the current edition before relying on a specific requirement. Written by Roofline, roofers in Barnsley. Last reviewed September 2026.
