Storm Season Survival Guide: Is Your Roof Ready?

Roofers in Scotland and Britain are flooded with inquiries due to storm damage every winter. Storm season typically falls between September and February and is characterised by gusts of between 40-80mph and rainfall reaching 150mm per month. Learn how to storm proof your roof by following these simple steps with Edinburgh Roofing Contractors.

Storm Proof Your Roof

As you’ll read, an insurance claim is rarely a smooth process and often becomes highly contentious. By following these steps, you can avoid the legal drama and save yourself thousands of pounds.

• Ensure your roof meets BS 5534 standards
• Clear gutters. Replace loose or missing tiles
• Insure flashing is secured
• Inspect ridge tiles and chimney mortar

Insurance

Popular British home insurance providers include Liverpool Victoria, Aviva and NFU Mutual.

Before signing up with a provider, try to avoid a few industry tricks, or “technicalities”, many clients have fallen foul of. These include:

• The ABI’s official definition of a storm.
• Pre-existing conditions
• Poor Maintenance

The first is the official storm definition set by the Association of British Insurers (The ABI). For your claim to qualify the storm will need to reach wind thresholds of 55mph and/or rainfall at 25mm.

Pre-existing conditions refers to damage incurred prior to the storm. Loose tiles and moss, worn felt on flat roofs and general wear and tear fall into this category.

Finally poor maintenance may be cited by insurance as a reason to withhold your claim. An insurance review will be looking for signs of moss and algae, clogged gutters and cracked mortar.

Insurers will look for signs of long-term neglect as the principle cause of damage. Clients can avoid this by holding receipts of annual inspections by their property maintenance of roofing company of choice.

Emergency Repairs

In the event of a leak or roof damage, you may need to take immediate action to avoid further damage. Our roof contactors are on hand to offer emergency relief across the greater Edinburgh area. We’ll diagnose the damage and outline your options.