Make the property safe, stop water getting in if you can do so from inside, and photograph everything before anything is touched. Then get a make-safe visit rather than a permanent repair, because permanent work in bad weather is rarely good work. Insurers generally cover sudden storm damage but not gradual wear, so the evidence you gather in the first hours matters.
- Never go onto a roof during or straight after a storm. This is where people are seriously injured.
- Photograph before touching anything — it is the evidence an insurer will ask for.
- Make safe and permanent repair are two different visits, and conflating them produces poor work.
- Insurers distinguish storm damage from wear. Perished mortar that finally gave way is usually treated as maintenance.
The first hour
- Keep people away from the affected area, inside and out. Displaced tiles and loose ridge sections can fall long after the wind has dropped.
- Contain water inside. Buckets under drips, and if a ceiling is bulging with trapped water, a small hole drilled in the lowest point of the bulge lets it drain in a controlled way. A ceiling that collapses does far more damage than a hole you made deliberately.
- Move what matters. Electrical items first, then anything absorbent. Lift stored items in the loft off the floor.
- Turn off electrics in the affected area if water is anywhere near lighting or sockets.
- Photograph everything, inside and out, before you move or clean anything. Wide shots and close-ups, with the date.
- Do not go up. Not onto the roof, not up a ladder in wind, not onto a wet roof afterwards.
What a make-safe visit is, and why it is not the repair
Emergency roofing work has one objective: stop the property getting worse. That usually means removing or securing anything loose that could fall, sheeting over an opening, clearing a blocked outlet, and getting the building weathertight enough to see out the next few days.
It is deliberately temporary. Permanent roofing work needs dry conditions, scaffold, materials matched to the existing roof and time to do properly — none of which are available at eight in the evening in a gale. Work done in those conditions tends to need doing again.
So expect two visits, and be slightly wary of anyone promising a permanent fix in the middle of bad weather. The sequence that produces a good outcome is: make safe now, inspect properly once conditions allow, then quote and carry out the permanent repair.
There is also a safety threshold. There are conditions in which no one should be on a roof, and a contractor who declines to go up in a 50mph gust is exercising judgement rather than avoiding work.
What insurers actually cover
This is where most of the frustration arises, and understanding the distinction in advance saves a lot of it.
| Situation | Usually covered? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Tiles blown off in a named storm | Generally yes | Sudden damage from an insured event |
| Tree or branch falls onto the roof | Generally yes | Sudden, identifiable, external cause |
| Ridge tiles displaced in high wind | Sometimes | Depends whether the mortar had already failed |
| Perished mortar that finally gave way | Generally no | Treated as gradual deterioration |
| Leak through an aged, worn covering | Generally no | Wear and tear is excluded in most policies |
| Water damage to contents from a covered event | Usually yes | Follows the buildings claim |
| Damage worsened by delay in reporting | May be reduced | Policies require reasonable steps to mitigate |
| Scaffolding and make-safe costs | Often yes | Where part of a valid claim; check your policy |
Policies vary and this is a general picture rather than advice on yours. The practical point is that insurers draw a hard line between sudden damage and gradual wear, and the evidence decides which side a claim falls.
Building the evidence an insurer wants
- Photographs taken before anything is moved, including wide shots showing the whole elevation and close-ups of the damage.
- The date and the weather. Note the date, time and conditions. Insurers frequently check wind speeds for the location against the claimed date, and a claim that does not line up with recorded weather is challenged.
- Photographs of the damage inside, including ceilings, walls and contents.
- An itemised written quote, not a single figure. Insurers want to see scope and materials.
- Evidence of maintenance if you have it. Records of inspections or previous repairs help counter a wear-and-tear argument.
- Receipts for emergency work. Keep them; make-safe costs are often recoverable within a valid claim.
- Written notes of who you spoke to and when, both at the insurer and the contractor.
Beware the storm-chaser
Severe weather reliably brings door-knockers offering immediate roof work, and this is worth being direct about.
The pattern is consistent: someone appears unprompted shortly after a storm, says they noticed damage from the road or were working nearby, offers to go up and look, and then reports significant damage that needs urgent work with a deposit today. Sometimes the damage is real; sometimes it was created during the inspection.
The protections are simple and worth applying even when you are stressed and the ceiling is dripping. Do not agree to work on the doorstep. Do not pay a large deposit to someone who arrived unannounced. Ask for a written quote, an address, and public liability insurance. Take a photograph of the vehicle and registration. And if your roof genuinely needs emergency attention, call a contractor you have chosen rather than one who chose you.
A legitimate roofer will have no difficulty with any of that.
What to check once the weather clears
- From the ground with binoculars: missing or slipped tiles, displaced ridge, lifted flashing, anything visibly out of line.
- The gable edges and verges, which take the wind first.
- The chimney, for displaced pots, cracked flaunching and lifted flashing.
- Gutters and downpipes, for sections pulled loose or filled with debris.
- The garden, for tile fragments — useful evidence of what came off and from where.
- The loft with a torch, for daylight, fresh water trails and wet insulation.
- Fences, outbuildings and anything that may have struck the roof on its way past.
What repairs cost
These are the roofing figures published across this site:
| Job | Typical Coventry guide price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Minor roof repair | from £150–£400 | Slipped or broken tiles, usually one day |
| Chimney repointing / flashing | £300–£900 | Access dependent |
| Flat roof (EPDM / GRP) | £80–£120 per m² | Warm or cold deck |
| Full re-roof (typical semi) | £5,000–£9,000 | Strip, membrane, batten, re-tile |
| Larger / detached re-roof | £9,000–£12,000+ | Scaffolding included |
Make-safe work is charged separately from the permanent repair, because they are different visits with different objectives. Where there is a valid insurance claim, make-safe costs are often recoverable — keep the receipts.
We make the property safe first, photograph what we find for your insurer, and quote the permanent repair once conditions allow it to be done properly.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as storm damage for insurance?
Generally, sudden damage caused by an identifiable severe weather event — high winds, heavy rain, hail or snow loading. Insurers often reference recorded wind speeds for your location on the date claimed. What is normally excluded is gradual deterioration: a ridge whose mortar had already perished, or a covering at the end of its life, is usually treated as maintenance.
Should I get the repair done before contacting my insurer?
Make the property safe first — policies require you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage, and emergency costs are often recoverable. But do not have the permanent repair done before the insurer has had the chance to assess, and photograph everything before any work including the make-safe.
Who pays for emergency make-safe work?
You usually pay initially and claim it back if the claim is valid, so keep itemised receipts. Many policies include emergency assistance, so it is worth checking what yours covers before calling anyone. If the claim is declined as wear and tear, the make-safe cost sits with you.
How quickly should storm damage be repaired?
Make safe immediately; permanent repair as soon as conditions allow it to be done properly. There is no benefit in rushing a permanent repair into bad weather — the work will not be good and may need doing again. Delaying beyond that, though, risks both further damage and an insurer arguing you failed to mitigate.
Someone knocked offering to fix my roof after the storm. Should I use them?
Be cautious. Unsolicited doorstep roofing work after severe weather is a well-established pattern, and it frequently involves large deposits, inflated scope or damage created during the inspection. Do not agree to work or pay on the doorstep. Ask for a written quote, an address and insurance, and prefer a contractor you chose yourself.
Can I claim if some of the damage was pre-existing?
Possibly, in part. Insurers may cover the element attributable to the storm while excluding the pre-existing deterioration, which is why evidence matters so much. Photographs, maintenance records and an itemised quote that separates the storm damage from unrelated wear all help.
Make safe now, repair properly after
We prioritise urgent work, photograph what we find for your claim, and come back to do the permanent repair when it can be done well rather than quickly.