Is stolen roof lead covered by insurance?

Lead on a roof is part of the building, so any claim for it normally falls under buildings insurance rather than contents. Many policies list theft or attempted theft as an insured event, and many cover the damage that follows, such as the wet ceiling below and the rotted boards.

This is general information, not advice on your policy, and policies differ. Look for three things in yours: whether theft of fixed parts is an insured event, what the excess is, and whether there are conditions on how the building is used or kept.

Common conditions include unoccupied or empty property clauses, which can limit cover if a house has been vacant for a set time, and requirements about security or maintenance. A church, hall or commercial property may be on a different type of policy with its own terms, so the building's manager should check the schedule.

If the policy wording does not settle it, ring the insurer and ask directly. Ask in writing if you can, so there is a record.

Speed helps both the building and the claim. Do not go on the roof, because exposed boards and loose lead are unsafe. Look up from the garden and across the ceilings indoors, and write down what you see.

Report it

Tell the police and get a crime reference. Insurers usually ask for it, and it fixes the date of discovery on record.

Photograph before anything changes

Take pictures of the missing lead, the disturbed gutters, any ladders or tools left, and the water damage inside. Keep the photographs dated. Do not tidy up before they are taken.

Tell the insurer

Call promptly. Most policies expect notice without delay, and some insurers have their own repair contractors or approval steps.

Make the building watertight

A temporary covering protects the roof while the claim is settled. Keep the receipt, since reasonable emergency costs are often part of a claim. On our side, the first job is to stop the water getting in. Our guide to lead theft from roofs covers prevention and replacement.

An insurer wants to know what was there, that it was taken, and what the repair will cost. That means a mixture of records.

Before the theft, any earlier photographs of the roof, a survey report or an invoice for the original leadwork help show the lead existed. After the theft, the crime reference, the new photographs and a roofer's written report make up the core file. A report from a roofer should describe the missing lead, the code if it can be told, the length, and the damage to the deck and the interior.

The written quote is the next piece. Our survey photographs your roof, and then we write a quote covering the lead, the boards, the temporary protection and the scaffold, so an assessor can see what the work involves. We can give the quote in a form you can pass on.

Do not agree any payment or sign off a repair before the insurer has said what it will accept.

Cover usually aims to put the roof back to its previous condition. That often means lead replaced with lead, though some insurers may raise an alternative material, so agree the specification with the insurer before work starts. The size of the claim then depends on how much was taken and what has to be restored around it.

The cost of lead work varies. Checkatrade gives lead flashing repairs at £50 to £70 per metre and stepped flashing at £80 to £120 per metre for Code 5, excluding VAT. MyBuilder's 2026 flat roof guide puts lead flat roofing at £150 to £200 or more per m². Those are national guide figures, and an assessor will weigh them against your own quote.

Expect your excess to apply. Some policies may also deduct for wear and tear, or ask for security measures on the new roof, such as marked lead or extra fixings. Pieces fitted in the right lengths are covered in the answer on why lead is fitted in short lengths, and that applies to the replacement as well.

Once the insurer agrees, the work can go ahead. A lead flat roof that was stripped needs its deck checked first, since water may have rotted the boards. Our page on repairing a lead flat roof goes through that process.

Staining on the walls around the roof is not caused by theft but may be noticed in the same inspection. The answer on white streaks below lead explains it.

The replacement carries our 10-year workmanship guarantee, given in writing, and we sweep up and carry off the waste when we finish. Photographs of the finished roof go into the same folder, because the insurer may want proof that the lead was put back as agreed. Keep every document from the claim together in one folder: the policy schedule, the crime reference, the photographs, the roofer's report, the quote and any letters from the insurer. If a decision is slow or seems wrong, that folder is what you will need to challenge it. Raise a formal complaint with the insurer first. After eight weeks with no final answer, or once you have an answer you disagree with, you can take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service, normally within six months of the insurer's final response. Send photographs of the damage through the enquiry form, or ring 01453 933613. For the whole subject, see lead roofing.