Same-night emergency make-safe within four hours of the storm peaking, followed by a fully insurance-funded strip-and-replace re-roof. We wrote the schedule of works in BCIS-compatible format, liaised directly with the loss adjuster, and handled a supplementary claim — the homeowners' only out-of-pocket spend was their policy excess.
A young family in Nantwich called our 24-hour emergency line late one autumn evening as a storm front was passing over Cheshire. A run of ridge tiles had lifted, the underfelt had torn open across most of the rear pitch, and water was already coming through the spare bedroom ceiling. Two children, a baby, and an unfolding situation that needed someone on site within hours, not days.
We were on the property within four hours of the call. By daybreak the roof had been temporary-tarped, the displaced ridge tiles secured against the chimney, and a written incident report photographed and ready for the family's insurer. Eleven days later the loss adjuster had visited, the claim had been approved, and a supplementary discovery raised under temporary cover had also been signed off. The permanent re-roof started on day fifteen and finished three weeks later.
The headline figure for the homeowners was simple. Their out-of-pocket cost across the entire process was their policy excess. Everything else — emergency call-out, make-safe, schedule of works, loss adjuster liaison, supplementary claim, full strip-and-replace and certification — was handled by us and funded in full by their buildings insurance.
The call started as one brief and turned into another within twenty-four hours. The original ask was simply "stop the water coming in tonight". Once that was done the brief became "handle this end-to-end so we don't have to learn how insurance roofing claims work in the middle of an unfolding family crisis".
The total insurance settlement landed at £16,300. The homeowners' total spend was their policy excess. The settlement was transferred from the insurer to us directly via the schedule we submitted — the homeowners did not have to fund anything up-front and reclaim it later, which is the most stressful pattern on a typical insurance roofing claim.
Six things made this job different from a standard re-roof.
Active water ingress at the time of the call. Every additional hour of unprotected damage would have meant more internal repair, higher claim values, and potentially a habitability issue. Same-night response was non-negotiable. Crew dispatched within thirty minutes of the call, on site within four hours.
Family of four including a baby, staying in the house throughout. Daily liaison non-negotiable. Working hours kept to 0800–1700 once the emergency phase was over. Skip placement and material storage agreed with the homeowner not the contractor's preference. Driveway access for the family car protected during scaffolding.
Loss adjusters reject generic builder quotes. The schedule of works has to be written in BCIS-compatible format with itemised line items, unit rates per measurement (not lump sums), and clear cause-and-effect language linking each line to the storm event. Most independent roofers cannot produce this format. We can.
The insurer's appointed loss adjuster visit took nine days from claim notification — well within industry norms but still a delay the family could not influence. Permanent works could not be scheduled until the visit was complete and the claim approved. We managed expectations carefully and kept the temporary tarp tied off and weathertight throughout.
When the temporary tarp was removed for the loss adjuster's site visit on day nine, an additional area of underfelt damage and three more cracked tiles were exposed that had been masked by the tarp positioning. We documented the discovery on the same day, raised a supplementary claim with photographic evidence, and had it approved within forty-eight hours.
Booked into our next available scaffolding slot once the claim was approved. Three weeks of permanent works with weather contingency built in. Tarp-and-go discipline at end of every shift. The family did not have a single additional water ingress event between the storm and the completion of the permanent works.
Storm-damage insurance work succeeds or fails on the paperwork, not the roof. Our approach was built around the paperwork first, the workmanship second.
24-hour emergency line, real human answer. Storm damage almost always happens outside business hours. Our 24-hour emergency line is answered by a roofer, not a call centre. The conversation that follows determines the speed of the response. Within thirty minutes of the family's call, a two-person make-safe crew was dispatched with a tarp kit, ladders and lighting. On site in under four hours total.
Make-safe with evidence in mind. Photograph the damage before you cover it. Photograph the make-safe with the temporary tarp in place. Photograph internal damage from inside the property. Every photograph timestamped and geo-tagged on a phone with location services on. The insurer cannot dispute photographs that pre-date the make-safe.
Written incident report within 24 hours. The homeowner's insurer wants two things on day one: the policyholder's account of the event, and a contractor's incident report describing the damage. We provide the second so the homeowner can submit it alongside their policy notification. This single document accelerates the loss adjuster's visit by days.
Schedule of works in BCIS-compatible format. Loss adjusters use BCIS (Building Cost Information Service) rates as their reference for assessing claim values. A schedule of works submitted in BCIS-compatible language — itemised, measured, line-by-line — gets approved without revision. A generic builder quote gets rejected and adds two weeks to the timeline.
Direct loss adjuster liaison, copied to homeowner. Once the claim is open, we deal with the loss adjuster directly. The homeowner is copied on every email so they have full transparency, but they do not have to chase, translate, or argue. Most homeowners have never made a buildings insurance claim in their lives. We make twenty a year.
Direct settlement, not reimburse-and-claim. The settlement was paid directly from the insurer to us via the schedule we submitted. The homeowners did not fund the works up-front and reclaim afterwards. Their out-of-pocket cost was their policy excess and nothing more — the most stressful pattern on a typical insurance claim, eliminated.
Five elapsed weeks from emergency call to insurance closure. Eight discrete stages spanning emergency response, insurance liaison and permanent works.
24-hour emergency line answered by a roofer. Family situation triaged in the first conversation. Two-person make-safe crew dispatched within thirty minutes with tarp kit, ladders, lighting and ridge-tile securing kit. On site in under four hours from the original call. Temporary tarp tied off, displaced ridge tiles secured against chimney, internal damage photographed. Roof made watertight before crew left.
Daylight return visit for full damage assessment. Photographic evidence pack assembled: external damage, make-safe in place, internal staining, displaced tiles on the ground. Written incident report drafted and emailed to the homeowner the same evening, ready for them to attach to their insurance notification.
BCIS-compatible schedule of works prepared: itemised, measured, line-by-line with unit rates and reference codes. Cover letter linking each line item to the storm event. Submitted to insurer within five days of the storm. Homeowner copied on all correspondence.
Insurer's appointed loss adjuster site visit on day nine. We attended on site to walk the loss adjuster through the schedule, the photographic evidence, and the temporary make-safe. Initial verbal indication of approval given on the day. Written confirmation expected within 48 hours.
Written approval received day eleven. Latent damage discovered during the loss adjuster visit (additional underfelt damage and three more cracked tiles, masked by the original tarp position) raised as a supplementary claim with photographic evidence on day twelve. Supplementary claim approved on day fourteen. Total settlement £16,300.
Temporary tarp removed. Insurance-grade scaffolding erected to all elevations of the semi, with formal oversail agreement registered for the attached neighbour. Pre-strip survey conducted with the homeowner, photographs taken, scope confirmed against the approved schedule. Skip positioned with permit. Site induction recorded for the four-person crew.
Full strip-and-replace across 138 m². Klober Permo Air breathable underlay, 50x25mm BS 5534 graded battens, Marley Modern interlocking concrete tile in mid-grey, SupaTile dry-fix verge, ridge and hip system, hand-formed Code 4 lead flashings, replacement uPVC fascias and soffits where damage evidenced, replacement seamless aluminium gutters and downpipes. Photographic record captured at every stage and emailed to homeowner each evening.
Final detail work and snagging walk-through with the homeowner. Drone photography of completed roof. Insurance closure pack assembled: full photographic record (before, during, after), workmanship guarantee on letterhead, manufacturer warranty registered to homeowner, final invoice. Pack sent to both the insurer and the homeowner. Scaffolding struck. Site cleaned to broom-finish standard. Claim closed.
Insurance-grade specification with the supporting numbers.
24-hour emergency line answered by a roofer, not a call centre. Make-safe crew dispatched within 30 minutes of call. Tarp kit, ladders, lighting, ridge-tile securing equipment carried as standard. On-site target under 4 hours, achieved.
Timestamped, geo-tagged photographic record from initial damage through to final completion. External, internal and make-safe coverage. Written incident report supplied within 24 hours of storm.
BCIS-compatible itemised schedule with unit rates, measurement-based pricing, reference codes and storm-event cause-and-effect language. Approved by loss adjuster without revision.
Marley Modern interlocking concrete tile, mid-grey finish, 420 x 330mm. 343mm gauge, 75mm headlap. 50-year manufacturer warranty registered to homeowner.
Klober Permo Air vapour-permeable breathable underlay, 150mm laps, taped at penetrations. 50x25mm BS 5534 graded sawn softwood battens, factory-treated, full replacement.
SupaTile dry-fix verge, ridge and hip system, BS 8612 compliant. Stainless steel mechanical fixings throughout. Zero cement bedding.
Code 4 milled lead apron flashings to BS EN 12588, hand-dressed on site at chimney stack and party-wall abutments. New Code 4 lead trays at chimney-roof interface.
uPVC fascia and soffit replacement to evidenced damage areas. 0.7mm seamless aluminium 125mm half-round gutters in heritage black, with 75mm round downpipes.
Final pack to homeowner and insurer: full photographic record, workmanship guarantee on letterhead, manufacturer warranty registered to homeowner, final invoice, claim correspondence archive.
A four-hour emergency response in the middle of the night, a same-night weathertight make-safe with photographic evidence captured for insurance purposes, a BCIS-compatible schedule of works approved by the loss adjuster without revision, a supplementary claim raised and approved on latent damage, a full strip-and-replace re-roof of 138 m² in Marley Modern concrete tile across three weeks of permanent works, and a complete insurance closure pack handed to both the homeowner and the insurer at the end.
The total elapsed time from the emergency call to insurance closure was five weeks. The total spend by the homeowners was their policy excess. Everything else — emergency call-out, make-safe, schedule preparation, loss adjuster liaison, supplementary claim, full strip-and-replace, certification and warranty — was funded by buildings insurance, paid directly from the insurer to us via the approved schedule.
We rang at half past eleven on the worst night I can remember in this house. Water was coming through the spare bedroom ceiling and our baby was in the next room. A real person answered, sent two roofers within the hour, and they had a tarp on our roof before sunrise. From that point onwards we did not have to think about a single thing. They wrote the insurance schedule, dealt with the loss adjuster, even raised a second claim when more damage was found, and three weeks of permanent works later we had a brand new roof. Our only out-of-pocket cost was our policy excess. I cannot stress enough how much of a difference it made to have someone handle the paperwork side of it — we had no idea what BCIS even meant when they explained it.
If a storm has damaged your roof — lifted tiles, blown ridge, torn felt, water through the ceiling — call our 24-hour emergency line. We will be on site within hours, make the roof safe before we leave, and handle every step of the buildings insurance claim from incident report to final closure. Your only out-of-pocket cost is your policy excess.
Call Our Emergency Line