Storm insurance – is my home covered?

You’ve probably had a fair few memorable storms pass your way over the years – we all remember that night in 1987. And thank goodness the weather forecast is a little more accurate these days!

You probably also hope your home insurance will be able to deal with any damage caused by bad weather. It no doubt will, but there may be some finer details you might need to know about. Let’s take a closer look.

What is classed as a storm in insurance terms?

For most people a storm can be a number of things – thunder and lightning, howling gales or thrashing rain. But for insurance underwriters, a storm needs to be a specific event that meets certain criteria.

Take a look in your policy book and you’ll find a special definition for ‘storm’. The Association of British Insurers’ storm definition is what you’ll find in most policy books:

A period of violent weather defined as:

• Wind speeds with gusts of at least 48 knots (55mph) (Equivalent to Storm Force 10 on the Beaufort Scale) or;
• Torrential rainfall at a rate of at least 25mm per hour or;
• Snow to a depth of at least one foot (30 cm) in 24 hours or;
• Hail of such intensity that it causes damage to hard surfaces or breaks glass.

As we don’t all have a handy wind-reader or rain gauge, what’s the best way to know if this sort of weather has come your way?

Follow the weather warnings

The Met Office weather warnings are based on many factors and not only knots, mph and Beaufort numbers.

In recent years warnings describe the effects we should expect from forthcoming weather as well as factoring in things like time of year, location and typical usual conditions. This means we get yellow, amber and red warnings for extreme heat and snow as well as wind and rain.

Along with warnings we now have named storms, which still seem quite a new concept. Storm names make it easier to talk about a particular weather pattern and help us judge what storm is coming while another is going, rather than forecasters talking about stormy weather in general.

Can I claim for storm damage on my home insurance?

Your buildings policy will likely provide cover for damage caused to your home by storms, such as a toppled chimney pot, a section of roof that’s been lifted off and windows smashed by flying debris.

It will also include related damage as a direct result of the event.

You’ll need to check your policy to find out exactly what you’re covered for. You may find that your wooden fence isn’t covered and nor are hedges – these are commonly excluded from home insurance storm and flood claims.

Do you have garden contents cover? You might find you can claim up to a certain amount to replace broken garden furniture and plants that have suffered.

Weather that fits the policy book definition of a storm is quite severe. At other times, if you get a leaking roof, you’ll probably have to claim under accidental damage, which isn’t usually included as standard on home insurance policies.

Anna Thunstrom, Home Product Manager advises: "It’s always a good idea to stay on top of property maintenance ahead of bad weather, like getting your roof checked before winter. Even bad weather can exacerbate existing problems, like the chance of a leak if you’re missing tiles from the roof. Your policy is unlikely to cover avoidable issues like this."

Do I need to prove there was actually a storm?

If you’re making a claim for damage from a storm, the first thing your insurer will do is check the weather in your area against its policy wording definition of a storm. They do this using a specialist weather data provider.

This means you need to be confident the weather caused the damage for your claim, rather than just revealing an existing problem, and the weather fitted the policy’s storm definition.

The reason insurers are so stringent about the weather data is that policies don’t pay out for loss or damage due to wear and tear.

A well-maintained roof should withstand a lot of bad weather, so if tiles slide off or guttering comes away in weather not classed as stormy, it’s likely age or wear and tear is the ultimate cause.

Is lightning classed as storm damage?

Weirdly, of all the things that we think of when we picture a storm, lightning strikes aren’t classed as storm damage. The evidence of lightning strikes remains, so there isn’t an issue confirming what caused any damage.

You’ll find that lightning isn’t mentioned in the storm damage definition of most home insurance policies – but it does appear as one of the ‘perils’ like fire and flood in standard policies.

On premier policies, there probably won’t be a specific mention as higher-grade cover is generally for ‘all risks’.