Can you claim for a leaking roof on house insurance?
It depends on why the roof is leaking. If a storm or a sudden accident damages your roof and lets water in, buildings insurance will usually cover it. But if the roof has worn out, aged or been poorly maintained over the years, insurers treat the leak as wear and tear and normally exclude it. The cause, not the leak itself, decides the claim.
A leaking roof is one of the clearest examples of the sudden-versus-gradual rule. If a storm rips off tiles, or a falling tree branch punches a hole in the roof, that is sudden accidental damage and your buildings insurance will typically pay to repair both the roof and the water damage inside. Storm damage is a standard peril on most policies.
The problem comes when a roof leaks because it has aged. Slipped tiles, perished flashing, cracked mortar and worn felt are things a homeowner is expected to maintain. When water finds its way in through a roof that has gradually deteriorated, insurers usually class it as wear and tear and decline the damage - including the internal damage the leak caused - because the underlying cause was not sudden or accidental.
This is where storm claims are often disputed. Insurers may argue that the wind was not strong enough to count as a 'storm', or that the roof was already in poor condition and the weather exposed an existing weakness. Both are common reasons for a roof leak claim to be reduced or refused, and both can be challenged with the right evidence.
Good evidence makes the difference. Photographs before and after, weather records for the day, and an independent roofer's or surveyor's report stating that the damage was storm-related rather than pre-existing can all support a claim. Insurers weigh the balance of probability, so a clear, documented account of a sudden cause carries real weight.
If your roof leak claim has been turned down as wear and tear but you believe a storm or sudden event was the real cause, it may be worth a second look. Our roof leak claim guidance explains how these disputes are argued and won.
What counts as a storm
Storm claims are refused more often than any other roof claim, and the argument is usually about whether there was a storm at all. Policies rarely define the word, so the Financial Ombudsman Service applies a three-part test that insurers broadly follow.
First, were there storm conditions at the time, meaning violent weather such as strong winds, torrential rain, snow or hail. Wind speeds around 55mph and above are generally accepted as storm force, though heavy rain and hail can qualify on their own. Second, is the damage consistent with what a storm does. Third, were the storm conditions the main cause of the damage, rather than something that exposed a roof already at the end of its life.
A claim needs all three. Met Office weather data for your postcode on the date of the damage settles the first point and costs nothing to obtain.
Why 'pre-existing condition' is the usual refusal
The third part of that test is where most roof claims fail. An insurer accepts there was a storm and accepts the roof leaks, then argues the covering was already worn, so the weather merely revealed a problem that was coming anyway.
That argument is not automatically right. A roof can be old and still be sound, and age alone is not the same as disrepair. If the surveyor's report leans on the roof's age rather than its condition, that is worth challenging.
Evidence that supports a roof claim
These carry more weight than a description of what happened, and most of them are easier to gather in the first week than later.
- Met Office or local weather station records for the date, showing wind speed, rainfall or hail.
- Photographs of the roof from ground level before the damage, which often exist in old listing photos, phone albums or online street imagery.
- Photographs of the damage itself, including any tiles or debris that came down.
- An independent roofer's or chartered surveyor's report stating the cause, and saying plainly whether the roof was in reasonable condition for its age.
- Records of any recent roof maintenance or inspection.
Flat roofs are treated differently
Flat roofs have a shorter expected life than pitched ones, and insurers know it. Some policies limit or exclude cover for flat roofs over a certain age, and others require them to have been inspected periodically.
If part of your property has a flat roof, check whether your wording says anything specific about it before you need to claim.
Emergency repairs while the claim is decided
A roof that is letting water in cannot wait for a claim decision, and policies do not expect it to. Most include cover for reasonable emergency work to make the property safe and watertight, such as sheeting a roof or replacing a few tiles.
Keep the work proportionate and keep the paperwork. Photograph the damage before anything is covered or replaced, tell the insurer what you are doing before you commit to significant spend, and keep invoices. A full re-roof ordered before the insurer has inspected is unlikely to be paid in full, and it removes the evidence the claim depends on.
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Related questions
This is general information about UK home insurance claims, not financial or policy-specific advice. Always check your own policy wording.