Flat Roofing Insurance

Flat roof insurance issues:

You have two choices for flat roofing insurance: including it on your home insurance, or going with a specialist insurer.

A flat roof (classed as a roof with a slope of less than 10 degrees) is often seen as a problem by insurance companies in the UK. This is for four main reasons: weather, lifespan, maintenance and burglary.

Especially where more than 30% of your overall roof surface is considered "flat", these factors can all affect your premium (less than 30% and your flat roof usually doesn't add to your premium) so it makes sense to try to mitigate these factors as much as possible.

Weather:

The UK is prone to changeable weather including rain, snow, sun, high winds, ice and frost. In general, flat roofs are not as good at standing up to heavy precipitation (of any type) as pitched roofs - snow and ice simply accumulate and rain can pool, leaving flat roofs more vulnerable to cracks and damage. Many roof types including felt, asphalt, bitumen, fibre cement and asbestos, are especially prone to cracking over time, especially where water ingress has begun (when freezing/thawing expansion/contraction becomes an issue). Single-ply and coil or plastic-coated metal can be damaged by high winds. Metal roofs can be prone to rust at cut ends.

The polymer system has many advantages (see this breakdown), including the fact that it doesn't crack, cannot lift in the wind, and is jointless and seamless, meaning water cannot get in.

Lifespan:

Many types of flat roof have shorter lifespans than pitched roofs. Among flat roofs, different roofing materials will last different amounts of time, some of which will be guaranteed and some won't. We offer guarantees on our polymer roofs of between 10-25 years depending on the system you choose. Take a look at our Client Information section for more.

Maintenance:

Flat roofs need more maintenance, which can mean some insurers are unwilling to give quotes at all, whereas others just charge more. However, some flat roofs require more maintenance than others. The least "needy", again, is probably polymer roofing (we've worked with different systems in the past and now specialise in polymer roofing because we think it's the best one). Where a roof surface is expected to take more wear (for example terraces or balconies) we can also incorporate anti-skid grit and hard-wearing pigmented quartz.

Burglary:

No need to point out how much easier access is across a flat roof than a pitched one (and of course we can't do anything about this). However, where certain features of the roof are themselves theft-risks (for example with copper/lead roofing or detailing) we can overcoat with polymer, rendering the metal itself theft-proof. Alternatively, we can also treat with SmartWater - find out more here

Regular V Specialist Insurers:

What kind of insurance you choose is up to you, and either might ask for regular inspections of your roof. Regular home insurance will usually cover your roof (pun not intended!), so long as whatever damage there is hasn't been caused by neglect or a lack of maintenance. Specialist roofing insurers will be more likely to take into account factors such as how new your roof is, how recently it has been repaired, what materials it uses (modern ones are seen as preferable to and more resistant than older ones) and so on.

Either way, in our experience, polymer roofing helps enormously with insurance costs and in many cases does away with additional premiums altogether. This holds true both with new polymer roofs and with refurbishments.

Find Out More:

We hope this brief guide has been helpful. To find out more about how we can help with your roof, call today on 07855 535581 or drop us an email - we aim to reply to all emails within 24 hours, never chase and never pass on your details to ANYONE.