Roofs before the first named storm, and the inspection that comes first

Every September the Met Office, Met Éireann and the Dutch weather service KNMI publish the list of names for the coming storm season. The 2026/27 list is out. The first name on it is Austen, followed by Boelo and Chloe. A storm is only named when it is expected to bring medium or high impacts, so by the time a name is attached to one, the chance to get someone up on the roof calmly has usually gone.

What the figures show

The Association of British Insurers published its figures for 2025 on 17 February 2026. Insurers paid out £6.1 billion in property claims across the year, the highest annual total on record. Weather-related property claims came to £1.2 billion, up 14% on 2024.

Storm damage to homes alone reached £244 million, a rise of 32%. The average storm damage payout was £2,450, which is £750 more than the year before.

Those are the claims that were paid. They do not include the damage that was put down to wear and tear, the repairs owners paid for themselves, or the water that came through a roof and was only found months later as a stain on a ceiling.

Where storms find a building

Wind rarely creates a defect. It finds one that was already there.

On pitched roofs it is the slipped or cracked slate, the ridge tile with failed mortar and the flashing that has lifted at a chimney or an abutment. On flat roofs it is the membrane that has blistered or split at a seam, the edge trim that has started to peel and the outlet that is half blocked, so water ponds and then finds its way in.

Then there are the things fixed to the roof. Coping stones on parapets, chimney pots, aerials and satellite dishes, solar panels, rooftop plant and the ducting that serves it, and the cladding or signage at high level. Each is a small maintenance item right up until a gust lifts it, and then it is a falling object over a pavement, a car park or a playground.

Who is responsible

For most residential lettings of under seven years, section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 puts the structure and exterior of the building, including the roof, on the landlord. In blocks of flats the lease usually puts the roof and main structure on the freeholder or management company. For commercial buildings it depends on the lease, which is a good reason to know what yours says before the first storm rather than after it.

Whoever holds the repairing obligation, the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 expects reasonable care for the safety of visitors. A loose coping stone above a main entrance is a foreseeable risk.

Insurance is not a substitute. Most buildings policies cover sudden storm damage but exclude gradual deterioration and poor maintenance, and a claim will turn on whether the roof was in reasonable repair before the wind arrived. A dated inspection record with photographs is the easiest way to show it was.

What to check before the storms

An autumn roof inspection does not need to be elaborate. It needs to be done, written down and acted on.

Look at the roof covering for slipped, cracked or missing slates and tiles, and at flat roof membranes for splits, blisters and ponding. Check flashings at chimneys, parapets and changes of level. Check that parapet copings, chimney pots and anything bolted to the roof are still secure. Make sure outlets, hoppers and gutters are clear, because a storm usually comes with heavy rain. Look inside as well, in the top floor flats, the loft and the plant rooms, for new staining or damp.

Inspecting a roof is work at height, so the Work at Height Regulations 2005 apply. Plan it, use a competent contractor, and avoid going onto the roof where you do not need to. A lot can be seen from the ground with binoculars, from a neighbouring window or from a drone survey, and fragile roof lights and asbestos cement sheets are reasons to keep people off.

When something is found, give it a priority and a date. A loose coping over an entrance is this week. A tired membrane that is not yet leaking can go into next year's planned maintenance, as long as it is recorded and watched.

Why the record matters

After a storm the questions are the same ones an insurer, a leaseholder or a court would ask. When was the roof last inspected, by whom, what did they find, and what was done about it. If the answer is a contractor's invoice in someone's inbox, it will not show much.

Where SAMRISK puts it

SAMRISK holds the building and the land it sits on across thirty connected systems, twenty for the building and ten for the land.

The roof inspection sits in maintenance against the building, with its photographs and findings, and the defects it raises become actions with an owner and a date. The contractor who goes up is recorded through contractors and permits, including the work at height permit. Rooftop plant and fixings live in the asset register under items, marked on the building plans. Your buildings cover and its conditions sit in insurance, and the autumn inspection and its follow-ups go on the compliance calendar, so it happens every year before the first name is used, not after.

Sources: Association of British Insurers, property claims data for 2025, published 17 February 2026; Met Office, storm names for 2026/27, September 2026; Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 11; Occupiers' Liability Act 1957; Work at Height Regulations 2005.