The Ombudsman's storm wording
Insurers decide claims under the terms of the policy, and the Financial Ombudsman Service settles complaints about those decisions. Its storm damage page says a storm means violent winds, typically with rain, hail or snow, though a downpour, hail or snow can count by itself.
The Ombudsman considers the Beaufort Scale, while some insurers apply their own cut-off on it, so the same gust can be a storm under one policy and not another. There is no single national wind-speed threshold.
The consequence is that two policies can treat the same night differently. One may define a storm in its small print, another may rely on the ordinary meaning of the word. The test that counts for you is your policy's own storm definition, found in the policy booklet or schedule.
If a gale lifted a tile that was sound and well fixed the day before, the cause is easier to show than for one that had been loose for months. Insurers ask about that history, so think back to when you last saw the roof in good order.
Wear, tear and gradual damage
Slow deterioration and plain old age feature among the exclusions the Ombudsman lists, and both matter for roofs. A tile that has crept out of line over several winters, with a rotten batten behind it, reads as slow decay whatever the weather did last week.
That can feel unfair when the final failure came on a windy night, and insurers do look at the history. They want to see the condition before the event.
Things that help show a sudden cause rather than slow decay:
- Pictures of the roof taken before the weather, even from a garden.
- Records of past roof work or an inspection.
- Neighbouring roofs with similar damage on the same date.
- Fresh, clean breaks or displaced tiles lying near the house.
Which? has reported that only 32% of storm-related claims made in 2024 resulted in a payout. That figure is a reason to read your policy early, not a reason to assume refusal. Cover for accidental damage, where the policy includes it, may apply when the storm test is not met, so look for that section too and ask the insurer which part of the policy it is applying.
What to do first, in order
Advice from the Institution of Structural Engineers runs in three beats: call the insurer, make the damage safe, keep photos and receipts. In practice that works out as follows.
- Check nobody is at risk from loose tiles above doors, paths or the drive.
- Phone your insurer or broker and report the damage before arranging repairs.
- Photograph the damage from the garden, the loft hatch and the street, with dates.
- Arrange a make-safe only, such as a tarpaulin or refixing, and keep every receipt.
- Keep broken tiles until the insurer says you can dispose of them, as they show how the damage happened.
The IStructE describes photographs as vital, because they are visual evidence of the damage, and a dated set from before the repair is hard to argue with.
A make-safe is separate from a full repair. Ask the roofer to photograph the work as it goes and to describe in writing what was found. Where an insurer asks for a report, that note is what they will read.
For the repair itself, see replacing a single roof tile and tiled roof repairs in winter.
When a claim is refused
Begin with the insurer's written reasons and set them beside your policy wording. Ask which clause was used and what evidence it rested on. If you disagree, make a formal complaint to the insurer, because the Ombudsman expects that step first.
If the complaint does not settle it, the Financial Ombudsman Service can look at the case, and its helpline is 0800 023 4567. Send a roofer's report, dated photos and receipts with the complaint.
Dealing with the insurer is your side of the process. What we give you is a plain written account of what was found on the roof: which tiles moved, the state of the battens and fixings behind them, and what repair is needed. That is useful to you whichever way the decision goes, and it is the document a second insurer or a later buyer would also want to see.
Everything tiled sits under pitched roofing. A short note with pictures of the damage from the garden is enough to begin, and the claim reference, if you have one, helps us label the report.
