Roof damage insurance claims — the UK homeowner’s playbook

The two things insurers pay out for

1. Insured perils — storm, fire, falling tree, vandalism, escape of water, theft. Every standard UK buildings policy covers these.

2. Resulting damage — the cost of repairing both the roof AND the interior damage (ceilings, decoration, contents).

What’s not covered: wear and tear, lack of maintenance, gradual deterioration, pre-existing defects. The insurer’s loss adjuster will look hard for these to reduce or refuse the claim.

Step-by-step claim playbook

Within 24 hours of the damage

1. Make the property safe — tarp + secure. Your insurer expects this (your policy includes a “duty to mitigate further loss”). Costs of making safe ARE recoverable.
2. Photograph everything — interior + exterior, multiple angles, date-stamped where possible. Photos taken later are evidentially weaker.
3. Note the cause — Storm [name], date, time of impact. The Met Office name turns “weather” into “named storm” for claim purposes.
4. Get a roofer’s emergency report — written, with photos, listing every damaged element. We provide this free on every emergency tarp callout.

Days 2-7

1. Phone your insurer’s claim line — they’ll allocate a claim number. Don’t accept their on-call contractor unless you specifically want one.
2. Email the claim number to your roofer — they’ll address all quotes / reports to that number.
3. Get a written quote for the permanent repair — itemised by damaged element, with material costs separated from labour, scaffolding shown separately.
4. Submit: claim number, photos, emergency report, permanent-repair quote, and a covering letter summarising the damage. Email is fine.

Days 7-21

1. Loss adjuster may visit (insurer-side surveyor). They’ll inspect and write their own report. Be present for this — point out everything.
2. Insurer responds with their settlement offer. This is usually less than the quote because they’ll have used industry-standard rebuild rates (BCIS).
3. You either accept or push back with a counter-quote. We’ll prepare the counter if the gap is more than 10%.

Days 21-60

1. Permanent repair scheduled and done.
2. Final invoice goes to you; you pay; insurer reimburses on completion. (Some insurers pay the contractor directly — confirm before the work.)
3. Close-out documentation — final photos, work-completion certificate, warranty paperwork — goes to insurer to close the claim.

The settlement gap (and how to close it)

Insurer settles ≈ £3,200. Contractor’s quote is ≈ £4,100. The £900 gap is normal.

What drives the gap:

• Insurer uses BCIS rebuild rates which average down the trade rate
• Insurer doesn’t include scaffold premium, only basic access
• Insurer doesn’t include manufacturer-named upgrade (assumes generic equivalent)
• Insurer doesn’t include disposal cost / VAT

How to close it:

• Counter-quote with each item priced specifically — scaffolding, named manufacturer, disposal, VAT
• Cite the British Standard the work must meet (BS 5534 for tile/slate, BS 6229 for flat roof, BS 8000-3 for masonry)
• Reference any planning / Building Control requirement that adds spec
• If the loss adjuster won’t budge, request escalation to the underwriting team

Closure rate when we file the counter-quote properly: 85%+ of the gap recovered.

What to do when the insurer refuses the claim

Common refusal reasons:

• “It’s wear and tear” — counter with photos of intact roof from before, dated property survey, named-storm date matching damage date
• “It’s a pre-existing defect” — counter with named-storm wind speed at the property’s nearest weather station (Met Office data)
• “You didn’t maintain the roof” — counter with previous maintenance records or recent surveys
• “You used a contractor we didn’t approve” — most policies allow you to use your own contractor (check the wording)

If refusal stands: Financial Ombudsman Service. Free to file. The insurer pays £750 fee per case so they often settle just to avoid the cost. financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Common questions