Roof damage file
After a storm, what was not recorded is hard to prove. Here is the list of what to photograph, a dated log and the papers to keep. Fill it in on your phone or computer and print a sheet to take to your broker.
Damage file
Safety first. Take photos from the ground, from windows or from the attic. Do not climb onto the roof. If people are in danger, call 112.
1. Case details
2. What to photograph
Tick them as you go. Take the photos before you touch anything.
From several sides, to show where the roof is and how it looked as a whole.
Broken or lifted tiles, loose flashings, fallen gutters. One photo per damage.
Take one wider photo and one close-up of each stain.
Film the water dripping or running, with the date visible if you can.
It shows the cause and the context, for example a branch lying on the roof.
Do not delete anything from your phone. Send a copy by e-mail or to the cloud.
3. Dated log
Write down each contact and each cost on the day it happens: notice to the insurer, call to the council, tarp, invoice, quote.
4. Papers to keep
Nothing you type leaves your device: we neither store nor send this data. If you close the page you lose what you wrote, so print or save as PDF first.
What it is for
An insurer, and often a public aid scheme, asks for proof of the damage and of what the policyholder did to limit it. Photos taken at once, dated notices and kept invoices are the simplest proof.
Our guide to the first 48 hours notes that the insurance contract regime obliges you to limit the damage and makes the insurer reimburse reasonable and proportionate costs. Without an invoice, that cost is hard to show.
What this sheet does not do
It is not the claim notice: that is made through the channel your insurer gives. It does not say whether your policy covers storms, or how much it will pay. The 8-day deadline comes from the original text of the insurance contract regime (2008) and applies only if the policy sets none; we have not read later amendments. If in doubt, speak to your broker or a lawyer.
Also read
Frequently asked questions
No. The tool runs in your browser and does not send or store what you type. If you close or refresh the page, the text is lost. Print or save as PDF before you leave.
The deadline in your contract is the one that counts. If the contract sets none, the original text of article 100 of the insurance contract regime gives eight days from learning of the loss. Notify as early as you can and check your policy.
The insurance contract regime makes the insurer reimburse reasonable and proportionate costs made to limit the damage, even if the measure fails. Keep the invoice and take photos before and after.
No. Take photos from the ground, from windows or from the attic. A wet roof after strong wind is dangerous, and a fall costs more than any tile.
The photos and invoices serve both. Each aid has its own rules and deadlines; see our guide to Storm Kristin aid and check the site of the body that runs it.
Need someone to look at the roof?
Describe the roof and the damage. We are not contractors: we send your request to someone who can give a quote.