The short answer
Insurers can and do take a roofer's report into account, especially one with dated photographs that shows what is damaged and what caused it. They are not bound by it, and they may send their own assessor. A report helps most when it separates storm damage from wear and tear, because standard policies often exclude the second. No report can settle the outcome in advance.
What an insurer does with a roofer's report
When you claim for roof damage, the insurer wants to establish three things: that damage has happened, what caused it, and what it will cost to put right. A roofer who has been up on the roof can supply evidence on all three. The report is not a substitute for the insurer's own process, but it gives them facts they would otherwise have to gather.
Some insurers accept a report and a quote from the policyholder's chosen roofer and settle on that basis. Others appoint a loss adjuster, an assessor who inspects on the insurer's behalf, and treat your roofer's report as one input. A few ask for repairs to be carried out by a contractor on their own list. Which route applies depends on the insurer, the policy and the size of the claim, so read your policy and call the insurer before you commission any work.
A roofer's report does not oblige an insurer to pay, and nobody who writes one can predict the outcome. What a good report does is make your account easy to verify, and that tends to make the process smoother.
Storm damage versus wear and tear
The line between a storm and ordinary ageing is where most disputes arise. Many insurers rely on the definition used by the Association of British Insurers, which includes gusts of at least 55 mph. Standard policies may not cover damage from general wear and tear, and Which? has reported, citing FCA figures, that only 32% of storm-related claims made in 2024 resulted in a payout (Which?, November 2025).
In practice this means your roofer should be specific about the cause. Fresh breaks, tiles displaced in one direction, ridge pieces lifted along the windward side and debris on the roof all point to wind. Slates dropping from rusted nails, tiles crumbling with age or a membrane splitting at old seams point to wear. Most real roofs show a mixture, and an honest report says so.
If the insurer turns you down and you disagree, written evidence of cause is what you will argue from: the roofer's notes, the dated photographs and a record of the weather on the day. Complaints that stay unresolved can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service, at financial-ombudsman.org.uk.
What makes a report useful to an insurer
A report that persuades has certain features, and you can ask for them when you book.
- Dated photographs of each area of damage, shot both close in and from further back, so the position is obvious.
- A description of cause in everyday words, with the reasoning, such as the direction the tiles have moved.
- A distinction between new damage and old faults. This protects your credibility.
- A scope of repair listing the work needed and what it covers: replacement of tiles, relaying a slope, relining a gutter, make-safe measures.
- A price in writing, separated into the storm-related items and any unrelated repairs.
- Details of the roof, such as its covering and approximate age, which affect how an insurer values the loss.
Pictures from before the damage help too. Estate agent photographs, a previous survey or an earlier set of your own images show the roof as it was. The roof inspection checklist lists what to record so that you hold a baseline.
Practical steps after damage
If a storm has damaged your roof, a few steps protect both your safety and your claim. Do not climb up yourself. Take pictures of whatever is visible outside and in, such as ceilings, loft insulation and pooled water, and jot down the date and the weather. Phone the insurer soon and find out which documents they want.
Water that is coming in needs stopping, and a policy normally expects you to limit the harm once you know of it. A make-safe, such as securing loose tiles or sheeting a hole, is normally a sensible first step, and keeping the receipt and a photograph of the temporary work matters. When water is coming in, we stop that before anything else. The claim is yours to run with the insurer.
Get access arranged early. A roofer needs a ladder position and loft entry, and our notes on roof inspection access explain what to prepare. In poor weather the safe method may differ, as covered in surveying a roof in winter or rain.
What a report costs and what to expect from us
Typical UK prices reported by MyBuilder in 2026 put a roof inspection at £150 to £500, with a standard inspection at £150 to £250, a drone survey at £200 to £400 and a thermal survey at £300 to £500. If the work is covered by your policy, ask the insurer whether it will contribute to the cost of a report, since some do and some do not.
We survey at no charge, bringing back pictures of your roof together with a clear explanation of what we found. If repairs are needed, the fixed price follows in writing, and our workmanship is guaranteed for ten years in writing. That sits alongside your buildings policy and does not stand in for it.
Keep every document: the report, the quote, the invoice, receipts for temporary work and every exchange with the insurer. If the claim is declined, you can ask for the reasons in writing and use the complaints route set out in your policy. For the other visits available, see roof inspections and surveys.
