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A storm has a definition, and a windy night may not meet it
Storm damage claims fail more often on the definition of storm than on the damage itself. Insurers apply a test with three separate parts.
This is less a set of instructions about storm damage claims than an argument, and it is worth saying so at the start.
The argument in brief
- Policies define storm by wind speed or by severity, not by how it felt.
- Insurers check that the damage is consistent with the weather recorded.
- Gradual deterioration exposed by wind is treated as maintenance, not storm.
What a policy means by storm
Most wordings define storm as violent wind, usually accompanied by rain, hail or snow, and many attach a wind speed threshold. That threshold sits well above the wind that makes a fence rattle, which is why ordinary bad weather rarely qualifies. Some policies extend the definition to torrential rain or heavy snow without wind, and others deliberately do not.
Where a definition exists, it governs completely, and your own account of how bad the night was carries no weight against it. Reading the definition before a claim tells you whether the peril you are relying on can exist at your address at all.
The three questions an insurer asks
First, was there a storm on the date claimed, which is checked against recorded weather data for the nearest measuring point. Second, is the damage of a type a storm could cause, which rules out defects that wind cannot plausibly produce. Third, was the storm the actual cause of the damage rather than the moment an existing weakness finally gave way.
A claim usually fails on the third question, because the property was already deteriorating and the weather merely revealed it. Loss adjusters are experienced at reading that distinction from the condition of the surrounding materials.
Where maintenance takes over
Wear, tear and gradual deterioration are excluded by every domestic policy, and roofs are where the exclusion is applied most often. Slipped tiles on an otherwise sound roof read as storm damage; widespread nail fatigue across an old roof reads as age.
Flat roofs beyond their working life are a common decline, because the covering was failing before any wind arrived. Rotten fence posts, corroded fixings and loose flashing all fall the same way once the adjuster inspects the failed component. None of this is an insurer being difficult; a policy insures sudden accidental events rather than the passage of time.
What is often excluded anyway
Fences, gates and hedges are excluded from storm cover under a great many policies regardless of how strong the wind was. Damage to garden structures, ornaments and plants is frequently outside the buildings section entirely. Water entering through an opening the storm did not create is usually excluded, which covers most leaks around old windows.
Put simply, damage to the interior is normally covered only where the storm first damaged the structure and allowed water in.
Those carve-outs explain a large share of the storm claims that people are surprised to see refused.
Evidence that helps
Photograph the damage from several angles before any temporary repair, and photograph the temporary repair as well. Note the exact date and time you first saw the damage, since weather records are checked against the date you give. Keep receipts for emergency work, because most policies allow reasonable steps to prevent the damage getting worse.
Where a roof was recently inspected or repaired, that paperwork is the strongest answer to a maintenance argument. Where several neighbours suffered damage on the same night, saying so gives the adjuster useful corroboration.
None of this is a substitute for talking to a clinician if something feels wrong.
If the claim is declined
Ask which of the three questions the claim failed, because the answer determines whether there is anything worth arguing about. Ask for the weather data relied on and the distance of the recording point from your property, which can be considerable. A roofer or surveyor report giving an independent opinion on causation is the most useful document you can add.
Where the insurer relies on condition rather than weather, evidence of recent maintenance is the direct counter-argument. Complaints procedures and independent review schemes exist in most markets, and using them costs time rather than money.
The takeaway
Before claiming, check the storm definition, the date recorded and the condition of what failed; those three decide the outcome.
The version you keep doing is the version that works.
Questions readers ask
Does the wind speed have to be recorded at my house?
No, and it rarely is. Insurers use the nearest available station, which is why local variation is a reasonable point to raise.
Are fences ever covered for storm?
Sometimes, on wider policies or as an add-on, but the standard position across many markets is that storm damage to fences is excluded.
