Does home insurance cover a leaking roof or storm damage?

Published 2 October 2026 · Updated 13 October 2026

Storm damage or wear and tear?

Moneysmart, ASIC’s consumer website, says most home and contents policies cover storms, listing lightning, cyclones, strong winds, rainwater, hail and snow. A branch through the tiles in a southerly or sheets lifted in an east coast low is the clear case.

A leak from cracked pointing, rusted-through valleys or a gutter that’s been blocked for years is the other case. AFCA’s published approach describes wear and tear as “generally excluded”. Many claims fall in between: an old roof that a storm finally broke.

How the cause is decided

AFCA’s approach to these disputes turns on the proximate cause: “the dominant, effective or operative cause” of the loss. The case it gives is a storm branch that damages a roof and lets water in: “The proximate cause of the damage is the storm.” Where the insurer says an exclusion applies, “the insurer must show the proximate cause of the loss was the excluded event.” In one case AFCA describes, expert evidence was that a storm contributed to the loss, the insurer couldn’t show other factors were the proximate cause, and it was liable.

Rainwater, stormwater and flood

The words in your policy matter. Moneysmart says “Rainwater is usually defined as water that falls from the sky”, and that storm cover usually includes run-off that collects in normally dry areas and rainwater overflowing from stormwater drains. Flood is defined separately, as “The covering of normally dry land by water that has escaped or been released from the normal confines of” a lake, river, creek, reservoir, canal or dam, and some homes pay more for it or have it excluded.

For a roof, water coming through the ceiling in a storm is usually a rainwater and storm question, not a flood one. Check the product disclosure statement (PDS): Moneysmart says, “If you’re not sure what cover you have, ask your insurer or read your policy’s product disclosure statement.”

What to do straight after the damage

Safety first: keep away from sagging ceilings and wet light fittings, call Triple Zero (000) if life is at risk and the NSW SES on 132 500 for storm damage. Then, from Moneysmart’s claim steps:

• Photos and video first. “take photos and videos of the original damaged state” before anything is moved, cleaned or repaired.
• Contact the insurer early. “Contact your insurer as soon as practical after the event happens.” Some policies have time limits for lodging a claim. The NSW SES says the same: “contact your insurer as soon as possible to lodge a claim.”
• Ask before paying for a tarp. “Talk to your insurer before you spend money on temporary repairs after an incident.” Moneysmart says insurers may arrange emergency work such as a roof tarp themselves.
• Ask the key questions: your excess, what’s included and excluded, and whether you can use your own repairer or take a cash settlement.

Our own advice: note the date and time of the storm, keep damaged materials if you can do so safely, and keep every invoice. Roof leaking? What to do first walks through the first hour.

What the roofer’s report should say

Insurers often send their own assessor, and Moneysmart says you should be told within 5 business days if a loss assessor or adjuster is appointed. A report from your own roofer can still help, especially where the cause is in question. This is our advice on what to ask the roofer to record:

• Dated photos of the damage on the roof, not just the ceiling
• What they think caused it, and why: lifted or broken tiles, a branch, sheets peeled back, an overflowing box gutter
• The roof’s general condition around the damage, so the report deals with age and wear honestly
• What they did to make it safe, and what the permanent repair needs

Roof work worth more than $5,000, including GST, needs a licensed roofer and a written contract in NSW. If the insurer manages the repair, Moneysmart says to check the written scope of works, including the materials and anything you have to pay for. If you take a cash settlement, “you are responsible for managing the repair or rebuild process yourself.”

How long the insurer has to decide

If your insurer subscribes to the General Insurance Code of Practice, Moneysmart sets out these timeframes:

• “your insurer will respond within 10 business days”, including any request for more information
• progress updates “at least every 20 business days”
• a decision “within 4 months of receiving the claim”, with some exceptions
• if the claim is denied, the reasons in writing, and you can ask for copies of the reports relied on

If the claim is refused

Moneysmart says “You can complain to your insurer if you are not satisfied with how your claim is progressing.” Start with the insurer’s internal complaints process, in writing, with your photos and the roofer’s report. If that doesn’t resolve it, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) handles complaints about insurers; its published approach on the cause of damage, quoted above, is the framework it applies to storm-versus-wear disputes.

After a natural disaster, Moneysmart says you may ask for a review within 12 months of the claim being finalised, even if you accepted a settlement, if you believe the assessment was incomplete or inaccurate.

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