How a roof claim actually works

Photograph everything, immediately

Wide shots that show the house, close shots that show the damage, and pictures of the inside where water came through. Dated, before anybody touches anything. An adjuster can work with photographs; they cannot work with a description.

Know what your policy actually pays

The two clauses that decide the cheque are the settlement basis and the deductible. Some policies also carry a separate, larger deductible for wind and hail.

Get an independent assessment first

Filing a claim that turns out to be under your deductible costs you nothing but is on your record anyway. Find out the scale of the damage before you pick up the phone.

Stop further damage, and keep the receipts

Policies expect you to take reasonable steps to prevent things getting worse, and they generally reimburse the cost of doing so. Tarps, emergency call-outs, a temporary patch. Keep every receipt.

Mind the deadline

Report promptly even if you have not decided what to do. The clock in the policy runs from the date of the event, not the date you noticed.

Read anything before you sign it

Be wary of any contract signed in a hurry after a storm, particularly one that ties you to the contractor regardless of what the insurer decides.

In short

The homeowners who do well out of claims are not the ones with the worst damage. They are the ones with the best photographs.