The wind dropped an hour ago. Now you’re standing in the garden, looking at three tiles on the lawn and a gap in your roof where they used to be.
Living on this stretch of coast, it’s a matter of when, not if. The wind comes off the Channel with nothing to slow it down, and Deal, Kingsdown and Dover seafront properties take the brunt of every named storm that tracks up through Kent.
What you do in the next 24 hours decides three things: whether anyone gets hurt, whether the damage spreads into the house, and whether your insurance claim succeeds. This guide walks through all three — in the right order.
First Hour: Stay Safe and Stay Off the Roof
Storm damage hurts people in the hours after the storm more often than during it. So before anything else:
- Stay away from the damaged side of the building. Cracked tiles, loose ridge tiles and hanging gutters can come down minutes or hours after the wind drops.
- Don’t climb on the roof. Not even “just for a look”. Wet tiles after a storm are treacherous, and the structure under visible damage may be weaker than it appears.
- Check for downed cables. If a power line is touching your roof or lying in the garden, stay clear and call 105, the national power cut line.
- Move cars and people away from anything that still looks loose — chimney pots and ridge tiles are heavy enough to write off a car.
- If water is coming in, contain it indoors: buckets under drips, towels at the edges, power off to any circuit getting wet. Our guide to finding and fixing a roof leak fast covers the indoor damage-control routine step by step.
The storm has done its damage. Don’t let the aftermath add an injury to the bill.
Next: Document Everything Before Anything Gets Touched
Your insurance claim is won or lost on evidence, and the best evidence is gathered before any repairs start.
- Photograph the damage from every safe angle — from the ground, from upstairs windows, from a neighbour’s garden if they’ll let you
- Photograph the debris where it landed: tiles on the lawn, felt in the hedge, the fence panel the ridge tile went through
- Film a slow video walk-around; it captures context photos miss
- Note the date and time the damage happened, and the weather at the time
- Photograph any internal damage too — ceiling stains, wet insulation, dripping light fittings
That last point about the weather matters more than most people realise. Insurers assess storm claims against specific conditions — the industry benchmark, set out in the ABI’s storm claims FAQ, defines a storm as gusts of at least 55mph, torrential rain of at least 25mm per hour, or extreme snow or hail. If your damage happened during a named storm, note which one — the Met Office Storm Centre keeps a record of every named storm and its dates, which makes the weather evidence for your claim easy to pin down.
Call Your Insurer Early — and Know What They’ll Ask
Ring your insurer’s claims line as soon as you reasonably can. Most run 24-hour emergency helplines, and after a major storm the queue only grows.
Have ready: your policy number, photos, the date and time of damage, and a plain description of what’s damaged. Then know the ground rules:
- Emergency repairs to stop further damage are usually encouraged — but speak to the insurer first where possible, and keep every receipt and invoice. Reasonable emergency costs typically form part of the claim.
- Ask whether you have home emergency cover. It’s a common add-on that can pay for immediate temporary repairs like tarping a roof.
- Don’t commission the full permanent repair before the insurer has agreed it, unless they’ve told you to go ahead. Getting quotes from local roofers while you wait, though, speeds everything up.
One honest warning from inside the trade. Insurers distinguish sharply between storm damage and wear and tear. A storm that strips tiles from a sound, maintained roof is a valid claim. A storm that finds tiles already loose on corroded nails, or felt already brittle with age, often gets assessed as the storm revealing an existing problem rather than causing a new one — and the claim suffers for it. The roofs that survive storms, and the claims that get paid, belong to the houses that were maintained beforehand.
Make It Watertight: The Emergency Repair
With the insurer notified and the evidence captured, the priority is stopping weather getting into the building. This is where a local roofer earns their keep — and why we run an emergency roof repair service across Deal, Dover, Sandwich and the surrounding villages.
A proper emergency response typically means:
- Making the danger safe — removing or securing cracked tiles, loose ridge tiles and hanging gutters before they fall
- Temporary weatherproofing — heavy-duty tarpaulins or temporary sheeting fixed properly, not draped and weighted with bricks
- An honest damage assessment — what’s storm damage, what’s pre-existing, what the permanent repair involves and roughly what it should cost
- A written report and photos you can hand straight to your insurer
Be wary of one thing after every major storm: the men in an unmarked van who knock on doors in damaged streets offering to “sort that roof today for cash”. Storm-chasing is a recognised scam pattern. A reputable local firm has a trading history you can check, an address you can find, and no reason to demand cash up front. If in doubt, take their details, close the door and check.
The Permanent Repair: What Storm Damage Usually Involves
Once the insurer gives the nod, the permanent fix depends on what the storm found:
- Slipped and broken tiles or slates — the most common damage, and usually a contained repair on our tiled and slate roof services
- Ridge and verge damage — wind gets under the edges first; loose mortar bedding lets ridge tiles lift
- Lifted or torn flashing — wind peels lead flashing back from chimneys and abutments, opening a path for the next rainfall
- Flat roof damage — gusts get under felt edges and EPDM trims and peel; coastal flat roofs take this worst
- Gutter and downpipe damage — wind-thrown debris and ladder-happy branches; a gutter repair is often part of the same visit
A good roofer will also check what the storm loosened but didn’t remove. The tile that shifted 30 millimetres without falling is next storm’s missing tile — finding it now is the cheapest repair you’ll ever buy.
Why Coastal Roofs Take It Worse
A quick word on geography, because it changes the calculation for homes around here.
Roofs in Deal, Kingsdown, Walmer and along Dover seafront face conditions an identical house ten miles inland never sees. Wind off the Channel arrives at full strength, with no hills or woodland to take the edge off, and it carries salt. Salt air corrodes the nails and clips that hold slates and tiles in place, and wind-driven rain finds gaps that ordinary rainfall never reaches — it travels sideways, even upwards under tile laps and flashing edges.
The practical consequences:
- Fixings age faster here, so tiles and slates loosen sooner than the national averages suggest
- Mortar bedding on ridges and verges fails earlier, and ridge tiles are the classic seafront storm casualty
- Flat roof edges and trims take repeated peeling loads that inland roofs rarely experience
None of this means coastal roofs are doomed. It means the maintenance intervals that work inland need shortening by the sea, and that a roofer who works these streets knows exactly which details to check first. When we inspect a roof in Kingsdown, we go straight to the windward verges and the ridge — because that’s where thirty years of local call-outs say the trouble starts.
Before the Next One: Five Jobs That Storm-Proof a Roof
You can’t stop the wind, but you can decide what it finds when it arrives:
- Refix or replace any tile or slate that’s already slipped — these go first in every storm
- Have ridge and verge mortar checked; re-bed or re-point where it’s cracked
- Make sure flashings are dressed down tight, not lifting at the edges
- Clear gutters and outlets so storm rain has somewhere to go
- Book a roof inspection every couple of years, and after any named storm — it’s the difference between a paid claim and a “wear and tear” letter
Storm Damage Questions We Hear Most
Will insurance pay for a whole new roof? Only if the storm genuinely destroyed it, which is rare. Insurers pay to put right the damage the storm caused — typically a section repair — not to replace a roof that was already near the end of its life. If your roof was tired before the storm, expect the settlement to reflect that.
How long can a tarpaulin stay on? A properly fixed tarpaulin is a measure of weeks, not months. It will see you through the claims process, but wind works at every edge and fixing point from day one, and a tarp that fails in the next blow can cause damage of its own. Treat it as the bridge to a permanent repair, not a substitute for one.
Do I need to wait for the insurer before any repairs? No — emergency work to stop further damage is expected, and delaying it can actually count against you, since policyholders have a duty to limit the loss. The rules are simple: tell the insurer what you’re doing, keep it to genuine emergency measures, and keep every receipt and photo.
My neighbour’s tile damaged my car. Who pays? Their building insurance usually includes liability cover for exactly this — and yours covers you if the tile travelled the other way. Comprehensive motor policies also cover storm damage directly, which is often the faster route.
When the Wind Drops, Move Fast
If a storm has just been through and your roof took a hit anywhere in Deal, Dover, Sandwich, Kingsdown or the surrounding areas, call us first. We’ll make it safe, make it watertight, and give you the written assessment your insurer needs — usually the same day.
Call Weathered Roofing on 07379 187815 or request a free quote.