The short answer: home insurance covers sudden, accidental damage to your roof — a storm that displaces ridge tiles, a falling tree limb that punctures the covering, a burst pipe that damages the structure from above. It does not cover gradual deterioration — nail sickness, mortar failure, felt reaching end of life, or flashings that have slowly failed over years. The boundary between these two categories is where most disputes with insurers happen.
What Home Insurance Covers
Standard home insurance policies cover:
- Storm damage — wind displacing roof tiles, ridge tiles or chimney pots; storm-driven rain penetration through a previously intact roof
- Impact damage — a tree falling on the roof, a vehicle impact, or falling masonry from an adjacent structure
- Subsidence — structural movement causing roof damage (subject to specific policy exclusions)
- Fire — including fire brigade damage incurred during firefighting
What it does not cover:
- Gradual deterioration — mortar failure, nail sickness, felt breakdown, flashing failure from age
- Lack of maintenance — if a survey shows the roof was in poor condition before the storm event
- Wear and tear — the standard exclusion for any system reaching end of design life
- Pre-existing conditions — damage present before the policy started
The grey area in Tonbridge: a storm event accelerating an existing weakness. A ridge tile that was 'loose but holding' gets displaced in a storm. Was the damage caused by the storm, or by the pre-existing loose bedding? Insurers will often argue the latter. Photographing the roof before significant storm events — which sounds impractical but can be done via annual inspection photographs — gives you evidence of the condition immediately before any claim.
Storm definition: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires insurers to define storm clearly in policy documents. Most UK home insurance policies follow the ABI's guidance defining storm as sustained wind speeds of 48–55mph or gusts of 60mph+. Isolated heavy rain without high winds does not constitute a storm for insurance purposes. Source: ABI Storm Claims Guidance / FCA COBS 7.1
How to Make a Storm Damage Claim Correctly
- Photograph everything before any repair work starts. Every insurer will ask for photographic evidence of the damage as it was left by the storm. Roof repaired then claimed is a disputed claim. Phone camera, timestamped, from ground level and from any accessible angle.
- Check wind speed data for your postcode. Insurers typically require wind speeds of 50mph+ to class an event as a storm for policy purposes. The Met Office publishes historical weather data by location and date — save a screenshot.
- Report promptly. Most policies require storm damage to be reported within 30 days, some within 7 days. Late reporting can invalidate a claim.
- Get a written damage report from your roofer. Your roofer's written assessment with photographs and a cost estimate is the primary document your insurer needs.
- Don't delay essential repairs. Leaving a damaged roof exposed to further weather damage while waiting for an assessor can worsen the claim outcome — document emergency temporary repairs separately.
We provide written damage reports for insurance claims — call 0173 224 1138
📞 0173 224 1138What Insurers Need — the Documentation
| Document | What It Should Include |
|---|---|
| Damage photographs | Timestamped, taken before any repair work, all visible damage |
| Weather data | Met Office record for your postcode on the date of the event |
| Roofer's damage report | Written assessment, cause of damage, photographs, cost estimate |
| Emergency repair receipts | If temporary work was carried out, the cost and what was done |
| Policy schedule | Confirm what perils are covered and the policy excess |
Common Claim Pitfalls in Tonbridge
The assessor visits and finds pre-existing deterioration. On Tonbridge's post-war estate properties — Cage Green, Trench Wood, Higham Wood — nail sickness may be present before a storm event. An assessor finding extensive nail sickness on a roof claimed for storm displacement may attribute the failure to maintenance neglect rather than the storm. Having a recent inspection report showing the roof was in good condition before the event is the only defence.
Policy excess makes small claims uneconomic. A policy excess of £250–£500 on a repair that costs £300–£400 means the claim may not be worth making. Making a claim also typically triggers a premium increase at renewal. Small claims are often better paid out of pocket.
Appointed contractor schemes. Some insurers operate approved contractor networks and require you to use their appointed contractor. This is not illegal but you are not obliged to accept the insurer's contractor for non-emergency work — you have the right to obtain your own quotes. The insurer's obligation is to indemnify your loss, not to dictate who carries out the work.