The short answer
Commercial property policies tend to respond to sudden events, such as a gale tearing sheets off, but regularly omit slow, creeping damage and ordinary ageing. Complaints reaching the Financial Ombudsman turn on whether a storm really happened and really caused the damage. Nobody can promise a claim will succeed, so keep dated photographs, inspection reports and receipts, and tell your insurer first.
What does a commercial policy usually cover on the roof?
Wording differs from policy to policy, and the schedule you hold is the document that matters. Most property policies insure the building against named perils, and storm is commonly one of them. Many then rule out harm that accumulates slowly, such as corrosion, ageing and leaks that have run for months. A roof that has been failing for years is treated differently from a roof that was sound until a particular event.
Tenants should check who insures the roof. In a leased unit the landlord often insures the structure and recovers the cost through a service charge, while the tenant insures contents and stock. Our page on planning a commercial roof project covers the lease and consent questions that sit alongside this one.
Check the excess and any condition that the property must be kept in good repair. Clauses like those surface in disputes more often than the headline perils do. Brokers can explain the wording in plain terms, so ask whether flat roof membranes and gradual leakage are treated differently under your policy.
How do insurers decide whether it was a storm?
When a storm complaint reaches the Financial Ombudsman Service, it works through three tests. Was there really a storm that day? Is the damage typical of storms? And did the storm cause it, or would the roof have failed regardless? Plenty of policies carve out slow deterioration, though the burden is on the insurer to show that carve-out applies.
Which? reported in November 2025 that insurers often lean on a definition of storm which includes gusts of at least 55mph, and that ordinary policies may stop short of paying for wear. Its example was rain entering through a roof that had been badly looked after. Citing FCA data, it adds that only 32% of storm-related claims made in 2024 ended in a payout. The Financial Ombudsman's storm damage page sets out the full approach.
The practical lesson is to describe the event accurately and calmly, and to keep a copy of what you send. Note the date, what you saw and what the weather was doing, without guessing at causes.
Which evidence helps an insurer?
Think of the roof's story in three parts: how it looked before, what happened and what you did next. Before means dated photographs, earlier survey reports and invoices for upkeep, which show a roof that was kept in order. What happened means the date, the weather and a record of the damage as found, photographed before anything is moved. Afterwards means any temporary repair and the receipts for it.
A roofer's report that explains the cause helps, whether that is a lifted sheet, a displaced flashing or a long-term defect. Our survey produces photographs of the roof and a written quote, but claims are for you and your insurer: we do not run them and cannot say whether yours will succeed. The insurer decides, and the Ombudsman can help an eligible smaller business that disagrees.
Videos help as well as stills, especially of water entering. Walk the whole building afterwards so that internal damage, such as stained ceilings and wet stock, is recorded alongside the roof.
What do you do in the first hours after damage?
Advice from the ABI, put out during Storm Eunice in 2022, was to ring your insurer without delay. Where emergency measures are needed to prevent further harm, arrange them, but have that conversation with your insurer beforehand, and hold on to every receipt, because receipts become part of the claim. The same logic suits a commercial building, where water coming through can reach stock, electrics and ceilings quickly.
We bring leaks and storm damage to the front of the queue, and a make-safe precedes any permanent job. Photographs before and after record the condition. Do not throw away the failed component if you can safely store it, because a cracked sheet or a lifted flashing shows how it failed. A loss adjuster may ask to view the damage untouched.
Do not let a claim hold up the make-safe. Water left to soak into insulation and stock makes the loss larger, and an insurer will usually expect you to limit it.
What if the claim is declined or reduced?
Ask the insurer to explain in writing which part of the policy applies, and keep a dated log of every conversation, including who you spoke to. Take your complaint to the insurer first. When no final reply arrives inside eight weeks, or the reply leaves you unhappy, the Financial Ombudsman Service can help an eligible small firm. Expect a complaint to struggle if the roof had long been in poor shape and the policyholder was aware of it, or if the storm only revealed a fault that existed beforehand.
That is why upkeep records matter before anything goes wrong. A roof with dated inspection reports and prompt repairs is easier to defend than one with no paper trail. Our sheet corrosion page shows the sort of gradual defect that often sits behind a disputed claim, and our dilapidations roof page covers the lease side.
If a claim is paid, the insurer may specify how repairs are done and who does them, so agree the scope in writing first.
Where to go from here
Our commercial roof layers page explains what is under the membrane, which is useful when an assessor asks what failed. The commercial roofing hub lists every other topic we cover for business premises.