After a fallen tree, a storm that stripped a slope or a chimney that came through the roof, an insurer will want to know three things: what happened, what condition the roof was in before, and what repair is needed. A roofer's inspection report can answer all three on paper, with photographs. It does not decide the claim. Your policy and your insurer do that. What the report does is put clear, dated evidence on the table so that the discussion starts from facts.
This guide is about the content of that report. It covers the sections an insurer-ready report includes, how damage is recorded, how to separate storm damage from wear, what to do about temporary repairs, and how to present the report. Whether to commission an inspection at all is a different question, covered in roof inspection after a storm. For the full range of survey work, see roof inspections and surveys.
What an insurer is looking for in a roofer's report
A claims handler reading your report cannot visit the roof. Everything they need has to be on the page. That shapes what a good report contains.
Cause, extent and cost
The report should say what caused the damage, where it is and how far it extends. It should then describe the repair needed in terms that can be priced. A statement such as "slipped and broken slates across the lower third of the south slope, consistent with wind lift" gives the insurer something to assess. "Roof damaged in storm" does not.
Independence of the account
Insurers may send their own assessor. Your roofer's report is a separate record from the person who actually saw the roof, not a replacement for that assessor. A factual tone helps. Avoid language such as "clearly caused by" unless the evidence supports it, and note anything you could not verify.
Dates and conditions
A report should state the date of the visit, the date the damage is believed to have occurred, the weather around it and who first noticed it. If you are not sure when it happened, say so. Guessing a date is worse than leaving it open.
What it does not do
A roofer's report does not agree the claim, confirm cover or set the settlement. Those decisions rest with the insurer under your policy terms. Read the policy wording for what is covered and what the excess is, and speak to your insurer or broker early.
The sections of an insurer-ready roof report
A report built for a claim is organised so that a person who has never seen your house can follow it from start to finish. Ours follows a fixed order.
| Section | What it records |
|---|---|
| Property and visit details | Address, roof type, date, method of inspection, who attended |
| Background | What happened, when it was noticed, any earlier problems you know of |
| Findings by element | Covering, ridge, hips, verges, valleys, chimney, flashings, roofline, flat roofs |
| Photographs | Wide and close pairs, labelled by position |
| Cause of damage | The surveyor's opinion, with reasons |
| Pre-existing condition | Wear, age and maintenance issues unrelated to the event |
| Recommended repair | A scoped list of work, split into emergency and permanent |
| Limits of the inspection | Areas not seen and why |
Why each section matters
The background section lets the insurer understand the event. The findings and photographs are the evidence. The cause section is opinion, and is labelled as such. The pre-existing condition section is there on purpose: an honest report separates new damage from old wear, which is what an assessor will do anyway. The limits section protects everyone by stating what was not checked.
Why scope matters
The repair list should be specific enough that a second roofer could price it. For readers new to the layout, how to read a roof condition report goes through the same structure from the reader's side.
Recording damage so it can be checked later
Evidence is easiest to gather before anything is moved. The way damage is photographed and described decides how much use it is.
Before anything is touched
If it is safe, photograph the damage as it is found: displaced slates, the gap in the ridge, the fallen masonry, water marks in the loft or ceiling. Take pictures from a distance to show location and close up to show detail. Include something for scale where you can, such as a tile or a hand, without climbing onto the roof yourself.
Showing the route of the water
Where a leak has followed the damage, a report should trace it: the opening on the roof, the position of the wet timber or underlay in the loft, and the stain on the ceiling below. These three records together show that the damage and the leak are connected.
Photographs from the loft
Loft photographs often tell more than roof ones. Wet rafters, light showing through the covering, displaced insulation and fresh debris all point to recent damage. Our guide to loft inspection covers what a surveyor checks from inside.
Methods for hard-to-reach areas
High or steep roofs may be recorded with a pole camera or a drone, so nobody climbs on a damaged covering. The images are dated and labelled. Our comparison of inspection methods shows what each one can and cannot capture.
Keep the broken pieces
Where a fallen tile, slate or chimney piece is not a hazard, keep it until the claim is settled, and photograph it where it landed. A broken edge can show whether a fracture was fresh.
Telling storm damage from wear, and why the report says both
Policies generally respond to sudden events differently from gradual deterioration, and an assessor will look for signs of both. The wording of your policy decides how each is treated, so it is worth reading, but the roofer's job is to describe what is there.
What suggests a recent event
Clean, bright break surfaces on tiles or slates, debris on the ground below, displaced items that sit in a pattern consistent with wind direction, and fresh water marks in the loft all point to something recent. A cluster of damage on the exposed side of a building is typical of a storm.
What suggests long-term wear
Slates that have slipped gradually along a line of corroded nails, crumbling mortar at a verge, lead that has cracked across a fold or a moss-covered slope with dark old stains below suggest slow decline. These are conditions an insurer may treat as maintenance rather than damage, so the report should record them plainly rather than ignore them.
Where the two overlap
Storms often find an existing weakness. A ridge tile with failing mortar may be the one that comes off in the wind. A good report says so: it records that the tile was loosely bedded and was dislodged by the storm, instead of pretending either that it was sound or that the storm played no part. A ridge held by mortar and nothing else is one such weak point, since the 2014 revision of BS 5534 calls for mechanical fixings as well.
Age and maintenance
Lifespans for coverings are ranges, such as 80 to 100 years or more for natural slate and 30 to 50 years for concrete tiles on MyBuilder's guide. An assessor may ask about age and upkeep, so keep earlier surveys, invoices and photographs, and share them. The records described in our guide for landlords and letting agents are as useful to a single owner as to a portfolio.
Temporary repairs and keeping a claim intact
Water does not wait for an assessor. Stopping further damage is both sensible and normally expected by insurers, but how you do it affects the record.
Make it safe first
With a roof open to the sky, stopping the water comes first. A make-safe, which we put ahead of other jobs, might be a tarpaulin fixed over the opening, a temporary patch or removal of a loose chimney section. The report notes what was done, where, and why.
Record before and after
Photograph the damage before the temporary work and the cover after it. Keep receipts and the make-safe invoice. Those costs may be part of the claim, subject to your policy.
Wait for approval on permanent work
Do not strip and rebuild a damaged slope before your insurer has had the chance to see it, unless it is unsafe. Ask what they need and tell them what you plan. Where an assessor wants to visit, they can see the roof while the evidence is still there.
Scaffold and access
Access is a real cost on many repairs. The report should say where access is needed and what for; MyBuilder's 2026 figure for a re-roof scaffold is about £1,125. An insurer may ask what the access involves, and we can describe it in writing.
Quotes for the permanent repair
Our quote follows the survey in writing and covers the whole job, which makes it simple to hold against an assessor's own figures. Where the repair involves a listed building or a conservation area, tell your insurer early, since like-for-like materials such as stone or slate may cost more than a modern alternative and consent may be needed.
Older and listed roofs: what the report needs to add
Claims on period buildings often turn on materials and method, and a report for one should say more than a report for a modern house.
Name the material exactly
"Stone tiles" is not enough. For a Cotswold roof the report should record the type of stone as far as it can be judged, the fixing method (such as oak pegs) and whether the slope runs in diminishing courses, the slates shortening up the roof. That information decides what a like-for-like repair involves. Our page on period roof surveys explains how older roofs are examined.
Weight and structure
A stone slate roof weighs about 1,000 kg per 10 m², according to Cotswold District Council's 2000 guidance. A report that notes the weight and any signs of sagging timbers gives the insurer a reason for a structural check. If a repair would put a covering 15 per cent or more heavier on the roof, Building Regulations approval is needed; check with building control.
Listed buildings and conservation areas
Consent is needed before work that changes how a listed building looks or feels. Stroud District Council states that every listed building, whatever its grade, has full legal protection. A report should flag this so repair planning includes consent from the start. Check with the council's planning team.
Why like for like matters
Older roofs are repaired in the material they were built in. A report that records the original material gives the insurer a basis for pricing the correct repair, not a cheaper substitute that would not suit the building or satisfy a conservation officer.
Presenting the report and what to ask your roofer
A strong report still needs to be delivered well. A few practical points make the process smoother.
Send the whole file
Give the insurer the report, the photographs at full size, the make-safe invoice and any earlier surveys. Keep a copy of everything you send and a note of who received it and when.
Questions for your roofer
- Which parts of the roof did you see closely, and which from a distance?
- Does the report separate new damage from earlier wear?
- Is every photograph labelled with its position?
- Can you describe the repair so that someone else could price it?
- What happens if the insurer's assessor disagrees with your opinion?
If the assessor disagrees
Disagreement is not unusual. Ask what the assessor saw and on what basis. A joint visit, with your roofer and the assessor looking at the same slope, often resolves a difference faster than letters. If the claim is still disputed, your policy and the insurer's complaints process set the next steps.
What we provide
Our report for a claim records the findings with photographs of your own roof, separates the emergency work from the permanent repair and lists what we could not see. Repairs we carry out are covered by a written 10-year workmanship guarantee. To arrange an inspection, ring 01453 933613 or reach us by WhatsApp or the form.