Question answered
Is a roof leak worth claiming on insurance?
The short answer
A roof leak is worth claiming on when the repair costs clearly more than your excess and the damage came from a specific storm. It is rarely worth it for a small repair, or where the leak has built up over months, because policies often exclude gradual damage. Compare the likely repair cost with your excess first, then ask your insurer how a claim would affect your renewal.
Whether a claim pays its way depends on three things you can check before you ring: the size of the repair, the excess on your policy, and whether the damage came from a storm or built up slowly.
Start with the excess against the repair
The excess is the amount you pay towards any claim before the insurer pays the rest. Look on your policy schedule, where some policies list a higher figure for particular events such as storm or escape of water. Find the roof or storm figure, not just the general one.
Then put a realistic repair cost beside it. MyBuilder's roof repair guide (updated 21 August 2026) gives a typical UK range of £100 to £300 for minor repairs and £500 to £1,000 for moderate ones, and puts storm fixes at £500 to £1,500. A few slipped tiles or a short run of lead can sit below many excesses, in which case paying for the job yourself costs the same and leaves no claim on record.
A larger fault changes the sum. Re-bedded ridges across a whole roof, a stripped section after a gale or a fallen chimney can run well past the excess. Get the repair priced by someone who has actually been up and looked. Once we have surveyed, the quote arrives in writing, so you can hold a real figure against the excess before deciding.
Sudden storm damage and slow deterioration get different treatment
Many roof claims turn on one split. Insurers sort leaks into sudden damage and slow deterioration, and only the first is what a storm cover is meant for. A ridge that blew off in a night of gales belongs in the first group. A ceiling stain that has spread across a winter, from a flashing that was lifting long before, belongs in the second.
The Financial Ombudsman Service frames the test as cause: whether a storm genuinely occurred, whether the damage matches what storms do, and whether the weather or the state of the roof was the real reason. It also says exclusions commonly cover damage that develops gradually, and that the insurer must show an exclusion applies.
Which? reported in November 2025 that, going by Financial Conduct Authority data, only 32% of storm-related claims made in 2024 resulted in a payout. Treat a claim as a possibility, never a certainty. Our page on wear and tear claims shows where insurers place the boundary.
What a claim can do to later cover
People often ask whether a claim will push the premium up or use up a no-claims discount. The answer sits in your own policy and with your insurer, and it varies between providers. Policies differ on whether a discount is protected and on how far back they ask about claims when you renew or move.
Before committing, ring the insurer or your broker and ask three things: what the excess would be for this event, whether the claim would be recorded against you if it is later withdrawn or refused, and whether they have a preferred repairer or want their own assessor to visit. Write down the answers and the name of the person who gave them.
That call costs nothing and keeps the decision in your hands. If the damage is small, paying privately may be the tidier route. If it is large, the call is also the first step of the claim, and insurers generally want to hear about storm damage promptly.
Making the roof safe while you decide
Water does not wait for the claim decision. The insurance industry's advice during Storm Eunice in 2022 set out the order: ring your insurer, then book temporary emergency work to stop things worsening, but check with the insurer before you do. The order matters, because a permanent repair made before anyone has inspected the damage can leave the insurer with nothing to assess.
A sensible sequence is to photograph the damage and the stained ceiling, keep any fallen tiles, call the insurer, and then have the roof made safe. A tarpaulin or temporary patch is usually enough to hold things until the claim is settled; our page on the roof tarpaulin explains what that involves.
We make the roof safe first on any leak or storm job, and the survey photographs can sit beside your own as proof of what the roof looked like on arrival. Keep receipts for any temporary work. Everything we do for urgent jobs is described on our emergency roof repairs page.
When the claim is not worth making
Skip the claim when the cost sits close to the excess, when the fault is plainly age or poor earlier work, or when the leak has been showing for a long time. Which? names water coming through a poorly maintained roof as a standard example of wear and tear, so you should expect insurers to take that line. Ask your insurer how it would record a claim before you make one.
If you are unsure which category you are in, an inspection before you decide helps. Our method is to trace the water to its entry point, which is often a flashing, valley, ridge or gutter rather than the stain you can see. Our page on telling a gutter leak from a roof leak covers the first checks, and the cost side of urgent work is on why out-of-hours roofers cost more.
If a claim is refused, you can complain to the insurer, then take it to the Ombudsman if the answer still does not satisfy you.
Claim decisions, two more questions
Should I wait for a loss adjuster before any repair is done?
Make the roof safe, but hold off on permanent work until the insurer tells you what it needs. An assessor may want to see the damage as it is, so photograph everything and keep removed materials. Ask them what the assessor will want to see and when.
How long do I have to challenge a refused roof claim?
Complain to the insurer first. With no final reply after 8 weeks, or if you dislike the reply, the Financial Ombudsman Service will take the case. Its deadline is 6 months from the date of that reply, and it charges you nothing.
Tell us about your roof
Describe what is happening and we will call you back to arrange a visit.
- Photographs of what we find
- A written quote with one total price
- Or call 01903 299063
10-year workmanship guarantee, in writing.