Question answered
Insuring a stone slate roof
The short answer
Insuring a stone slate roof comes down to storm against wear. An insurer may meet damage that a storm caused, but policies often exclude gradual deterioration, and an old stone roof carries plenty of it. Rebuilding in stone is specialist work, so a claim can be large and closely examined. Photograph the damage, tell the insurer first, and hold back permanent repairs until they reply.
A stone slate roof is costly to put right, so the line between storm damage and age matters more here than on a tiled roof. Learn how that line is drawn before you ever need to claim.
Why a stone roof claim is read closely
Stone slates are heavy, hand-sorted and in short supply, so a claim on one is seldom small. A handful of displaced tiles on a clay roof is a modest job. On a stone roof the same visible damage can mean lifting a whole area, because the slabs sit in diminishing courses and cannot simply be swapped one for one. Stone slate sizes explains why.
For a stone roof, the Stone Roofing Association ranks reusing the existing slabs above every other choice. An assessor may well see it the same way, so the figure in a claim depends on how much of your stone survives and can be relaid, as against how much must be replaced.
Supply adds pressure. Trade reports from 2019 described new Horsham slabs as scarce, and said owners were fitting clay or stone salvaged from other buildings instead. Whether a policy funds stone like for like, or a cheaper covering, is a matter for your policy wording and your insurer. No roofer can promise it.
Storm damage or wear: where the line falls
The Financial Ombudsman Service lists three questions it works through when a storm complaint reaches it. Did a storm actually hit that day? Is the damage of a kind storms usually produce? And did the weather do the real harm, or would the roof have failed anyway? It describes a storm as typically involving violent wind, usually with rain, hail or snow.
An old stone roof can answer those questions either way. A slab flung clear in a gale, a clean fresh break and fragments in the garden suggest a storm. Slipped slates beside crumbled bedding, rusted fixings and long-standing moss suggest age. Real roofs usually show a blend of the two, which is why early evidence counts.
On exclusions, the Ombudsman puts the burden of proof on the insurer. A Which? article of November 2025, drawing on regulator data, put the share of 2024 storm claims that ended in a payout at 32%. None of this predicts the outcome of your own claim; the Ombudsman's storm damage guidance sets out its approach.
The first day after damage
Contact your insurer promptly. Trade-body advice issued around Storm Eunice in 2022 told householders to ring their insurer early, and to organise emergency measures that prevent further harm, though not before the insurer has been consulted. On a stone roof that caution is well placed, because an eager repair can destroy both the evidence and the slates.
Photograph everything before anything is moved: the roof from the ground, the broken slabs, pieces on the lawn, the ceiling stain and the timbers in the loft. Date the pictures. Keep any fallen stone, since it shows the break and may be reusable.
Stay off the roof. Lichen makes stone slates slippery and a fall is a far worse outcome than a damp ceiling. If rain is getting in, we put a temporary cover over the area that does not disturb the stone, then trace the real cause. Our Horsham stone roofing page describes the repairs that follow.
What sits under the stone, and what drives the figure
Part of the expense of a stone roof lies beneath the covering. The frame carries a substantial load on strong timbers, so a storm that shifts the slabs can also reveal rot or movement in the structure. An inspection of rafters and purlins belongs in any proper assessment. Sagging stone roof timbers looks at what to watch for.
Several things push a rebuild figure upward: scaffolding to the full height, careful lifting and sorting of the surviving stone, specialist labour, and any shortfall that must be sourced. A listed building or a conservation area adds a consent route as well.
We cannot name a number before seeing the roof, and a loose guess helps nobody. Once we have surveyed, your own slates are photographed and the written quote gives one overall price, which you are free to hand to your insurer.
Cover, upkeep and a clean paper trail
Read the policy for three points that bite on a stone roof: how it treats gradual damage, whether it insists on matching materials for an older or listed home, and any condition about maintenance. Some insurers ask when the roof was last inspected.
That is a reason to keep a simple file. A dated survey with photographs, receipts for past repairs and notes of any ridge or flashing work all describe a roof that has been looked after. Gaps in that record can lead an insurer to call damage wear and tear.
Regular checks cost less than a claim. Look at the valleys, the ridge, the lead around chimneys and the verges, and keep the gutters running clear, so water cannot back up beneath the stone. Where these roofs are found across the county is covered in Horsham stone in Sussex villages, which can also help a valuer see what you own.
Stone roof cover: two practical questions
May I begin repairs before the insurer has inspected?
Keep to the minimum. A temporary cover and a photographic record are reasonable. Permanent work, especially stripping or relaying stone, can remove the evidence the insurer wants to see, so await their reply on anything beyond keeping the weather out.
What if the insurer calls my stone roof damage wear and tear?
Raise a complaint with the insurer itself. If no final reply arrives after eight weeks, or the reply leaves you unhappy, the free Financial Ombudsman Service can look at it, within six months of the final response.
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
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