When a roof is damaged and you ask your insurer to pay for the repair, the claim turns on a few plain questions. What caused the damage? Did it happen at a particular time? Is it a result of an insured event or of age and neglect? How much is needed to put it right? Someone has to answer those questions with evidence, and the person best placed to supply it is the roofer who has stood on the roof. A good roof report is not a sales document and it is not a legal opinion. It is a clear, dated, factual record. This page describes what insurers generally look for, what a report written for a claim should contain, and how to use one without overstating what it can do.
How insurers look at a roof claim
Every policy has its own wording, and the policy governs, so read yours before anything else. In broad terms, buildings insurance is designed to respond to sudden, unexpected events such as storm, fire, impact from a falling tree or escape of water. It is not designed to pay for gradual deterioration, lack of maintenance or the natural ending of a roof's life. This distinction between an insured event and wear and tear is where most roof claims are won or lost.
An insurer or its loss adjuster will usually want several things. They want to know the date and circumstances of the event. They want to see the damage, ideally through photographs taken before anything was touched. They want to understand whether the roof was in reasonable condition beforehand, which is why maintenance records help. And they want a scope of repair with a price. Some will send their own assessor to the property; others will rely on evidence you supply. Either way, a specific, well-evidenced report makes their job easier and shortens the time to a decision.
What a report for a claim should contain
The report for a claim has the same core as a general inspection report, with extra emphasis on cause and timing. A good one holds the following.
- The address, the date and time of inspection, who carried it out and how they accessed the roof.
- A description of the roof: pitch, covering, approximate age if known, and any earlier repairs.
- The reported event: when the damage was noticed and what weather or incident preceded it.
- A list of findings by area, each with a photograph and a location, such as "rear slope, six courses below the ridge, left of the vent".
- An opinion on the likely cause of each item: wind lift, impact, water ingress, or age-related failure.
- A statement of any pre-existing defects seen, kept separate from the claimed damage.
- The scope of repair, split into emergency measures already taken and permanent work required.
- A fixed written price for the repair, with scaffolding shown on its own line.
- A note of anything that could not be inspected and why.
Our guide to what a roof report should include explains the general case, and our page on roof condition reports shows how the findings are graded.
Cause: the hardest part to get right
Establishing cause is the point at which a report earns its keep. Wind damage has a recognisable pattern. Tiles are lifted or removed along exposed edges, ridges and verges, they are found on the ground downwind of the house, and the surrounding tiles are intact and firmly fixed. Fixings and nibs on the missing tiles often show fresh breaks. Impact damage, from a fallen branch or a falling chimney pot, shows a localised area of broken tiles and often a mark or dent where the object landed. A leak caused by storm-driven rain shows in the loft after the event, with fresh staining that matches the damaged area.
Wear has a different signature. Tiles break down by delamination and surface erosion across a wide area. Fixings are corroded throughout. Felt is brittle and torn in many places, not just one. Stains in the loft are old, layered and widespread. A report that records these differences honestly is more credible than one that attributes everything to the storm, and it protects you if the insurer's own assessor sees the same roof. If the roof has both storm damage and age-related faults, the report should say so and separate them. Our short piece on hidden roof damage deals with faults that do not show from outside and are easy to miss in a claim.
Evidence to gather before the roofer arrives
Your own record counts. Photograph the damage from the ground and from windows, and any interior staining, before anyone moves anything. Keep damaged tiles, flashing and debris. Write down the date of the event, the weather and the time you noticed. If you took out a policy recently, note the date, because some policies attach conditions to the age or condition of the roof. Gather past invoices and reports; our page on roof inspections after a storm explains the immediate steps. Contact your insurer early, get a claim reference and ask what they require. Some insurers prefer to appoint their own contractor, some accept a quote from yours, and some ask for two. Find out before you commit.
The roofer's role, and where it stops
A roofer can describe the roof, photograph the damage, offer an opinion on likely cause and price the repair. A roofer cannot decide whether a claim will be paid, cannot promise an outcome and should not pressure you into a claim that the policy will not support. Be wary of anyone who says they can guarantee that the insurer will pay, or who suggests inflating a report. A genuine report stands on its facts. If damage is minor and falls below your excess, the honest advice is to pay for the repair yourself and not claim.
We keep to the facts. Our free survey includes photos of the actual roof and a written finding, and where the roof has been damaged by an event, we record it in a way that an assessor can follow. We do not act as a loss adjuster, and we do not promise results. If the insurer disagrees with a finding, the photos allow a discussion based on evidence. If emergency work is needed first, we prioritise leaking roofs and make them safe, keeping a record of what was done; the process is described on our emergency roof repairs page.
Matching and like-for-like repairs
Insurers usually fund repair to the standard of the original, not an upgrade, and the question of matching comes up often. A storm may take off a section of tiles, and replacements may not match the weathered ones around them. Reclaimed tiles can sometimes bridge the gap; in other cases a whole slope may be re-covered for a clean result. Where the old covering has no life left, the sums change, and the insurer may pay for the part damaged by the event while the owner meets the cost of renewing the rest. A good report states what is damaged, what is worn and what matching options exist, so that each decision is made with the facts.
Regulations can come into it as well. Small repairs seldom need any application, but a large re-cover may bring the roof's insulation into scope, and a new covering that is much heavier than the old one raises structural questions. The roof replacement regulations guide on building regulations for a new roof sets out the thresholds, and notifiable work is handled by us as part of the job.
What to expect on timing
Claims move at the pace of the evidence. An insurer will often ask for photographs and a repair estimate first, and may send an assessor for larger or disputed items. Emergency measures are normally allowed straight away, because the point is to stop further damage. Permanent repairs usually wait for agreement on scope and price, and for suitable weather. Ask early how long the insurer expects to take, and let your roofer know so that scaffolding and materials are booked when approval arrives, not before.
Be ready for questions. An assessor may ask when the roof was last serviced, whether there have been previous leaks, whether anything was done to the loft recently and whether the tiles were original. Answer honestly and keep the answers consistent with your photographs and invoices. Small inconsistencies, such as a stated date that does not match the weather record, can slow a claim more than a candid admission that the roof was already ageing.
Commercial and landlord claims
Claims on commercial buildings and rented homes follow the same logic with extra layers. A landlord or managing agent often needs the report to satisfy both the insurer and the freeholder or tenants, and the record should show who reported the problem and when. A business may also have business interruption cover, which depends on the physical damage being an insured event, so the cause statement carries extra weight. For flat roofs on commercial premises, the report should record the membrane type, laps, outlets and upstands, with photographs of any tears, lifted seams and ponding. Our roof inspections for landlords page describes the record-keeping that makes these claims simpler.
If the claim is declined or reduced
Insurers decline roof claims for several reasons: the damage looks like wear, the policy excludes it, the roof was poorly maintained, or the evidence was insufficient. If that happens, ask for the reason in writing and for the evidence behind it. A second report from an independent roofer can address a specific point, such as whether fixings were corroded or fresh-broken. Your insurer will have a complaints process, and if you remain dissatisfied there are independent routes for unresolved complaints. Citizens Advice publishes general consumer guidance. We cannot advise on the legal merits, but we can supply clear findings.
Whatever the outcome, use the report to plan. A roof that has suffered storm damage once may do so again if the underlying fixings or detailing are weak, and our roof inspections in Basingstoke service covers the check. To arrange a report for a claim, phone 01256 213956, or send photos of the damage over WhatsApp and we will come out to see the roof.
