Buildings insurance covers roof repairs when the damage is sudden and accidental: storm, fire, falling trees, impact or vandalism. It does not cover wear and tear, gradual deterioration, or damage caused by poor maintenance. That distinction is the reason most refused roof claims get refused.
If you’ve already had a claim turned down, skip to the three questions further down this page. They’re the test the Financial Ombudsman applies, and knowing them changes how you argue your case.
Table of Contents
The short answer
| Usually covered | Usually not covered |
| Storm damage | Wear and tear |
| Falling trees or branches | Gradual deterioration |
| Fire and lightning | Age-related tile or felt failure |
| Impact, including vehicles | Damage from blocked gutters or moss |
| Vandalism | Poor or missing maintenance |
| Escape of water from tanks and pipes | Faulty workmanship on earlier repairs |
| Subsidence and heave | Flat roofs beyond a policy age limit |
One thing worth setting straight early: a successful claim normally pays to repair the damaged section, not to re-roof the whole house. Insurers will resist paying for betterment, meaning an upgrade on what was there before.
What buildings insurance covers on a roof
Standard buildings policies work on the principle of sudden and accidental damage from a defined list of insured events. For roofs, the ones that come up are:
Storm. The most common roof claim by a distance, and the most commonly disputed. More on the definition below, because it’s stricter than people assume.
Falling trees and branches. Generally covered, though not if the tree was already dead or diseased and you knew about it.
Fire and lightning. Rarely disputed.
Impact. Vehicles, aircraft debris, falling masonry, satellite dishes coming loose.
Escape of water. Water from a tank or pipe, often in a loft, damaging the structure. Different from a leak through the roof, which is a rainwater ingress issue and treated differently.
Subsidence, heave and landslip. Usually covered, usually with a much higher excess, typically £1,000.
Insurers paid out around £560 million after three storms in 2023, and £4.1 billion across the first three quarters of 2024. Claims do get paid. They get paid when the cause is clearly one of the events above.
What it doesn’t cover, and why most roof claims fail
Wear and tear
The single biggest reason for refusal. Every buildings policy excludes gradual deterioration, and a roof is the part of a house most obviously subject to it. Felt perishes. Mortar crumbles. Nails corrode and tiles slip.
None of that is an insured event, however inconvenient the timing.
Gradual damage and slow leaks
A stain that appeared over a winter is a different proposition from a hole that appeared on a Tuesday. Insurers treat slow water ingress as a maintenance issue, and they’re generally entitled to.
Lack of maintenance
Blocked gutters causing water to run down a wall. Moss holding damp against tiles. A known problem left for two years. Policies contain a condition requiring you to keep the property in good repair, and this is where it gets used.
Flat roofs
Flat roofs get separate treatment in most policy wordings, and it catches people out.
Many insurers apply a maximum age, often somewhere between 10 and 15 years, beyond which flat roof damage is excluded or heavily restricted. Others apply a higher excess, or ask what percentage of the total roof area is flat. Some decline flat-roofed properties entirely on standard products.
If you have a flat roof over an extension or garage, read your policy schedule specifically for it. Don’t assume.
What actually counts as a “storm”?
This is where most disputes begin, because “there was a storm” and “the ABI definition of a storm” are not the same thing.
Insurers generally work to thresholds of:
- Wind gusting at 48 knots (55mph) or more, or winds equivalent to Storm Force 10 on the Beaufort Scale
- Torrential rain of at least 25mm per hour
- Snow lying to a depth of at least 30cm in 24 hours
- Hail intense enough to damage hard surfaces or break glass
If your insurer’s weather data shows local gusts peaked at 45mph, they may well decline on that basis alone. It’s worth checking Met Office records for your postcode on the date, because insurer data is not always granular and a nearby station can read very differently from your street.
The three questions that decide a storm damage claim
If a storm claim is refused and you take it further, the Financial Ombudsman Service applies three questions. All three have to be answered yes.
- “Do we agree that there was a storm on the date the damage happened?”
- “Is the damage consistent with what we generally see as storm damage?”
- “Were storm conditions the main cause of the damage, or did other factors mean the damage might have happened anyway?”
Most refusals turn on the third. The insurer’s position is usually not “there was no storm” but “the roof was going to fail anyway and the wind simply finished it off.”
That’s a defensible argument when the roof was genuinely worn out. It’s much weaker when the rest of the roof is sound and one localised area has failed. Which is precisely what the evidence needs to show.
Who has to prove what
Worth knowing, because most people assume it works the other way round.
The Financial Ombudsman’s position is that the insurer has to prove the exclusion applies — for example, with an inspection report. It is not for you to prove the storm caused the damage before you can be paid.
In practice that means an insurer declining on wear and tear grounds should be able to produce evidence of wear and tear. “The roof is 40 years old” is an observation, not evidence that age caused this particular failure.
The counterweight is honesty about condition. The Ombudsman is unlikely to side with you if the roof was in poor condition, you knew it, and the storm merely exposed a problem that already existed. It’s a fairness test, not a loophole.
What your roofer’s report needs to say
This is the part almost nobody explains, and it’s where claims are won or lost. A one-line quote for £2,400 to replace tiles gives a loss adjuster nothing to work with.
A report that supports a claim should set out:
- Dates — when the damage occurred and when the inspection took place
- Roof type, age and construction, as far as it can be established
- The failure mechanism, described specifically. “Tiles lifted and displaced by wind uplift, fixing nails sheared” carries weight. “Tiles missing” does not.
- Whether the damage is localised or widespread. Localised damage points to an event. Widespread failure points to age.
- The condition of the surrounding, undamaged roof. This is the most important line in the whole report. If the adjacent areas are demonstrably sound, the argument that the roof was worn out collapses.
- Date-stamped photographs, wide shots for context and close-ups for detail, plus internal images of any water ingress
- A costed breakdown separating storm repair from any pre-existing or discretionary work
- A statement on urgency, if further damage is likely without repair
- Company details, qualifications and a signature
Ask your roofer for this explicitly. Most will write it if asked, and very few offer it unprompted.
Should you claim at all?
Not every repair is worth a claim.
Buildings excesses commonly sit between £100 and £500, and storm and escape-of-water claims often carry higher figures than the standard policy excess. If the repair is £600 and your storm excess is £450, you’re claiming £150 and putting a claim on your record for five years.
Claims history affects future premiums whether or not the claim is paid out, and in some cases whether an insurer will quote at all. For small repairs, paying directly is frequently the better financial decision.
Get the repair costed first. Then decide.
What to do on the day the damage happens
- Make it safe. Do not go onto a roof in wind or rain. Nothing on it is worth a fall.
- Photograph everything before you touch anything. Ground level, close up if safely possible, and inside the property. Get the date stamp on.
- Record the date and time, and check Met Office wind data for your area.
- Carry out temporary repairs to stop further damage — sheeting, buckets, isolating water. This is a condition of most policies, not just sensible. Keep the receipts.
- Notify your insurer promptly. Delay is a reason to reduce or refuse a settlement.
- Don’t authorise permanent repairs until the insurer confirms or a loss adjuster has inspected, unless the property is unsafe.
- Keep every receipt, letter, email and reference number.
If your claim is rejected
A refusal is not the end of it, and the process is free.
First, ask for the decision in writing along with the evidence it relies on. You’re entitled to both.
Second, get your own inspection report, written to the standard set out above. Your evidence against theirs.
Third, make a formal complaint to the insurer. They have eight weeks to give you a final response.
Fourth, if they don’t respond within eight weeks, or you’re unhappy with the answer, refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You normally have six months from the final response letter to do so. The service is free, it’s independent, and its decisions bind the insurer.
A great many people stop at the first refusal. Given that the burden of proving an exclusion sits with the insurer, that’s often money left on the table.
Roofs on flats and leasehold properties
If you own a leasehold flat, the roof is almost always the freeholder’s responsibility, and the buildings insurance is usually arranged by the freeholder or managing agent, with the cost recovered through your service charge.
Report the damage to the managing agent rather than your own insurer. Your contents policy covers your possessions; it doesn’t cover the structure. Check your lease, because responsibility for a roof directly above a top-floor flat is occasionally apportioned differently.
Getting a roof inspection and report in Nottingham
Buon Construction carries out roof and structural inspections across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, including written reports for insurance claims, and the repair work itself. If a claim has been refused on wear and tear grounds and you believe the damage was storm-related, a properly written report on the condition of the surrounding roof is usually the strongest evidence available to you.
Get in touch for an inspection, or see the full range of what we do.
Frequently asked questions
Will insurance pay for a whole new roof?
Rarely. Insurers pay to repair the damaged section and restore it to its previous condition. A full replacement is only funded where the damage genuinely extends across the whole roof, or where repair is impossible. Paying for an upgrade on what was there before is called betterment, and insurers resist it.
Does buildings insurance cover a leaking roof?
It depends on the cause. A leak caused by a sudden insured event such as storm damage is usually covered. A leak that developed gradually through perished felt, slipped tiles or failed pointing is treated as wear and tear and is not.
What wind speed counts as storm damage in the UK?
Insurers generally require gusts of at least 48 knots, or 55mph, though some accept damage caused at lower speeds where the evidence supports it. Torrential rain of 25mm an hour, snow lying 30cm deep in 24 hours, and damaging hail also meet the definition.
My claim was rejected for wear and tear — can I challenge it?
Yes. The Financial Ombudsman expects the insurer to prove the exclusion applies, usually with an inspection report. Get your own report, complain formally, and refer it to the Ombudsman if the insurer’s final response doesn’t satisfy you. The service is free.
Does buildings insurance cover missing roof tiles?
Only if they came off through an insured event such as a storm. Tiles that have slipped through age, corroded nails or failed mortar are wear and tear. Where a well-maintained roof loses tiles in high winds, the claim is far more likely to succeed.
Are flat roofs covered by buildings insurance?
Often, but with conditions. Many policies set a maximum flat roof age of around 10 to 15 years, apply a higher excess, or ask what proportion of the roof is flat. Some insurers decline flat-roofed properties on standard products altogether. Check your policy schedule specifically.
Will claiming increase my premium?
Usually, yes. Claims stay on your record for around five years and insurers price for them, including in some cases claims that were reported but not paid. For a repair costing little more than your excess, paying directly is often cheaper over time.
How long do I have to make a roof damage claim?
Notify your insurer as soon as reasonably possible. Policies require prompt notification, and delay gives grounds to reduce or refuse a settlement. If you need to take a refused claim to the Financial Ombudsman, you generally have six months from the insurer’s final response letter.
Who is responsible for the roof in a leasehold flat?
Normally the freeholder, with buildings insurance arranged by them or their managing agent and recharged through the service charge. Report damage to the managing agent. Check your lease, as arrangements for top-floor flats occasionally differ.
