Start with the policy, not the roofer
When lead has been stripped from a roof, ring your insurer before you ring a roofer. Cover for theft may sit in the buildings part of a home policy or in another section, and the terms differ from one policy to the next, and only the wording in front of you settles the question.
Find the policy schedule and the full terms, and look for these points:
- Whether theft from the outside of the building is covered, and what the policy calls the roof.
- Any excess, the part of a claim you pay yourself.
- Conditions on empty or unoccupied homes, which can limit cover.
- Exclusions for gradual damage and wear and tear, which the Financial Ombudsman lists among common exclusions in a storm context.
If you rent the house out, run a flat or look after a church hall or other building for someone else, the policy may be held by a different party. Ask who holds it before you start, and ask whether a landlord's or managing agent's insurer needs to be told as well.
None of this is a promise of cover. The insurer decides, and a roofer cannot decide for it or speak on its behalf.
What to do on the day you find it
The order of things matters. Insurers expect to be told first, and evidence is easiest to gather before anything is touched.
- Tell your insurer as soon as you find the loss. Their advice comes first, and many insurers have an emergency line, as Which? notes.
- Report the theft to the police if the policy asks for it, and note any reference number you are given.
- Photograph everything. IStructE advises taking photographs, since they show the insurer what you saw on the day. Take wide shots of the roof and close ones of the bare areas and any water damage inside.
- Make the roof safe so no more rain gets in. A temporary cover is a sensible first step, and the work should be recorded.
- Keep every receipt for the make-safe and for anything you pay for.
Do not go on the roof yourself. Stolen lead leaves exposed boards and loose edges, and a wet deck can give way. Take your pictures at ground level, through an upstairs window, or with a zoom lens.
Make-safe first, repair second
A make-safe is a temporary measure that stops the weather getting in while the claim is sorted out. It might be a tarpaulin fixed over the bare area, a membrane over the exposed deck or a temporary cover over a stripped flashing. It is not the permanent repair, and it is not priced as one. Where a leak has already reached the ceiling, mention it to the insurer too, since internal damage may be treated as part of the same event.
Why the sequence matters: if the insurer's own assessor wants to see the damage, a roof already re-covered may be hard to assess. Photographs help, but your insurer may want to see the roof or approve the repair, so ask what it requires before any permanent work starts.
When permission is given, the repair replaces what was taken. That might be lead valleys, flashings, a flat lead roof or a parapet gutter. Where a return visit by thieves is a worry, the specification can include alternatives to lead, which are covered on the page about lead alternatives for flashings.
For a church or listed building the repair route has its own rules, and replacing lead on a listed roof explains them.
If the insurer says no, or only pays part
A refusal or a part-payment is not necessarily the end. Ask the insurer to explain its decision in writing and to name the policy term it relies on. Then read that term against what happened.
If you still disagree after the insurer's own complaints process, the Financial Ombudsman Service can look at the complaint. Its helpline is 0800 023 4567. On its storm damage page, the Financial Ombudsman flags exclusions for "wear and tear" and "gradual damage", a reminder that a lead theft claim also turns on the exact policy wording.
Which? has reported that "only 32% of storm-related claims made in 2024 resulted in a payout". That figure concerns storm claims and not theft, but it is a fair reminder that a claim is never a certainty, and that keeping good evidence helps your case.
The repair itself is a separate matter from the claim. Our part is to look at what is left, say what the roof needs, and send one written total. Related: lead flashing repairs, within lead roofing.
