A common assumption is that a leaking roof is an insurance matter. Sometimes it is. A storm that lifts a section of ridge, or a branch that comes through a slope, is the kind of event buildings insurance exists for. A roof that has simply reached the end of its life is not, because insurers treat age and wear as maintenance, and maintenance is the owner's job.
Below is how that line is usually drawn, what insurers tend to look for, how to record damage so a claim has the best chance, and how a roofer's written report fits in. We are roofers, not insurers, and nothing here replaces your own policy wording or a conversation with your insurer. The guarantee on new work stands apart from all this, and is dealt with in our guide to the guarantee on a new roof. For the whole service, see roof replacement in Stroud.
What buildings insurance is designed to cover
Buildings insurance is written around events. A policy lists perils such as storm, flood, fire and impact, and pays for damage that one of those perils causes. It is not a maintenance contract, and it does not promise to keep a roof in good order.
That is why the same hole in a slope can be treated differently depending on its cause. A slate that was torn off by a gust is damage by storm. A slate that slid out because the nail had corroded through is deterioration. The result on the roof looks identical from the garden, but the claim is not.
Read the wording, not the summary
Policies differ, and the headline page of a policy rarely tells you what matters. Look for the sections headed storm, accidental damage, exclusions and wear and tear. Pay attention to any wording about maintenance, to conditions that require the property to be kept in good repair, and to anything that mentions roofs or the age of the building. If the wording leaves you unsure, ask your insurer to confirm in writing before you commit to work.
Your policy is a contract we have not seen, so what it pays for is for the insurer to say. Our part is to describe what we find on the roof, in language and photographs a loss adjuster can use, whatever the outcome of the claim.
When insurers are more likely to contribute
The cases where a claim has the strongest footing share one feature: a sudden, identifiable event that damaged a roof that was otherwise sound.
Storm damage
A named storm, or a severe gust that lifts tiles, strips ridge pieces or tears flashings, is the classic claim. Signs on the roof include a cluster of missing or displaced slates on the exposed side, lifted ridge tiles, or a verge pulled away. The pattern tends to be fresh and localised. MyBuilder's roof repair guide, updated 21 August 2026, puts storm-damage fixes at £500 to £1,500, which gives a sense of the scale, although a whole roof may be another matter.
Impact
A fallen tree or branch, a neighbour's falling chimney, or debris carried by wind can crack tiles and break battens beneath them. The damage is concentrated where the object landed.
Other sudden events
Fire, and water escaping from a tank or pipe in the roof space, can be covered under other parts of a policy. A claim like that is handled on its own facts.
Why a whole roof is still not guaranteed
Even where an insurer accepts a storm claim, it may pay for the damaged area, not a whole new roof. If the rest of the covering is old and failing, the settlement may cover only the part that the event damaged. Raise it with the insurer early, because it affects whether a repair now and a re-roof later is the sensible plan.
When insurers will not pay
The common reasons for a declined claim are not a surprise to anyone who has read a policy. They are still easy to overlook when water is coming through the ceiling.
Age and wear
Coverings do not last for ever. Lifespans differ by material: MyBuilder gives natural slate as 80 to 100 years or more, and clay tile as 40 to 60 years, while Marley cites a BRE figure of a minimum life expectancy of 60 years for clay tiles. Treat them as typical spans rather than pledges: the real figure depends on exposure and workmanship. A roof that fails through age is a replacement cost for the owner.
Poor maintenance
Moss that has lifted tiles, blocked valley gutters, cracked flashings, failed mortar and slipped slates build up slowly. When a leak comes from one of these, an insurer is likely to say that the damage could have been prevented. Regular checks and small repairs are the best defence, and a record that you did them helps.
Gradual damage
Water that has been seeping for months, rotted timbers under an old flashing, and condensation damage are usually treated as gradual. Policies often exclude them, because the loss developed over time, not at a single moment.
Defective earlier work
If the leak is where a previous repair was done badly, the problem is the repair, not the weather. In that case it may be worth asking whoever did the work to put it right.
If the cause is unclear, do not guess. A written survey of the roof, with photographs, is worth having before you speak to the insurer.
Recording damage so a claim has evidence
A claim is strongest when the evidence is fresh, dated and specific. A few habits help.
What to do first
Make the house safe, and take photographs before anything is moved. Include wide shots that show the whole elevation, then close-ups of the damaged slates or tiles, any debris that came off, and the inside of the loft or ceiling where water has come in. Note the date and what the weather was doing. Keep any broken pieces, or at least photograph them.
Temporary repairs
It is reasonable to stop further damage with temporary measures such as sheeting or a make-safe repair. Keep the receipts and the photographs of the work, and tell the insurer. A policy may require the owner to take reasonable steps to limit the loss, so doing nothing can hurt a claim as much as doing too much.
Do not strip and replace first
If an insurer wants to inspect, do not remove the evidence. Wait for their instruction, or agree with them in writing what can be done in the meantime. Replacing a whole roof before anyone has seen the damage is the surest way to cause a dispute.
Ask what the insurer needs
Before you book anyone, find out whether your insurer has a preferred way of working. Some ask for their own inspection first. Some want two quotes, some want a written explanation of the cause, and some set a limit on what can be spent before they have approved it. A short call, followed by an email that repeats what was said, spares you a refused invoice later.
Keep the paper trail
Notes of phone calls, names, reference numbers and dates are tedious to collect but they save time later. Add the roofer's quote and survey report to the file.
How a roofer's report helps
An insurer will usually send a loss adjuster or ask for supporting evidence. A roofer's report is that evidence, written by someone who has been on the roof.
What the report should contain
A useful report names the covering (natural slate, clay plain tile, concrete interlocking tile, stone slate), describes the damage and where it is, and gives the likely cause with the reasoning behind it. It should say which parts of the roof are sound and which are not, and it should have dated photographs of your own roof. If the damage is storm-related, the report should say what supports that: fresh breaks, the direction of the damage, or debris from elsewhere.
What it cannot do
A report does not decide the claim. The insurer does. A roofer who promises that the insurer will pay is guessing. What a good report does is stop a claim failing for lack of detail, and give you a fair description to hold against the insurer's own view.
Our survey
Our survey for a re-roof records the covering, the battens, the underlay where visible, the flashings, the ridge and verge fixings, and the timbers beneath. We photograph what we find, and the written quote that follows covers the work. If you intend to claim, tell us when you book the survey so we can word the report around the damage, and say plainly if we find age or wear alongside it. The roof age against its condition is a separate question, which we cover in roof age versus roof condition.
Like for like, upgrades and what comes out of your pocket
When an insurer does pay, it generally pays to put the damaged part back as it was. That is the principle of reinstatement. It does not usually extend to improvements.
Changing the covering
If you would like a different covering from the one that was damaged, the extra cost is normally yours. Moving to a heavier material also triggers structural checks. The Planning Portal says that a new covering that increases roof weight by 15 per cent or more needs Building Regulations approval, and our guide to changing to a heavier roof covering explains the check. Insurers who agree to reinstate an old stone slate roof may expect stone back, not a cheaper product. On older properties we put back what was there, so the new roof matches the old one.
Regulations and extras
Where the job is notifiable under the Building Regulations, we handle that paperwork. Whether an insurer funds the extra work that the regulations require, such as upgrading insulation, depends on the policy and should be checked before work starts.
Excess and uncovered items
Most policies carry an excess, a first slice of any claim you pay yourself. Scaffold, waste removal and making good are normal parts of a re-roof, and each should be covered in the quote so the insurer can see what it is being asked to fund.
For the overall figures, MyBuilder's guide updated 21 August 2026 lists a full re-roof at £5,000 to £12,000. Our new roof cost guide sets out what drives a quote up or down.