Storm-damaged roof? How insurance claims actually work in NZ.

We have worked on plenty of Bay of Plenty insurance claims since 2017. Storm damage, falling trees, water ingress. The process is more opaque than it should be, especially for people doing their first claim. Here is what insurers want to see, what speeds your settlement, and the four mistakes we still watch people make.

The five-step claim process

1. Document everything BEFORE you do anything

Once you have noticed the damage and made the place safe, the very first thing is to get out your phone. Walk every angle. Take wide shots, close-ups, the inside of the roof space if you can get up there safely, every ceiling stain, every soaked carpet. Time-stamp them by texting one to a friend or emailing to yourself.

If the storm is still going, document from indoors. Do not climb a wet roof.

2. Contact your insurer ASAP and get a claim number

Even before you have figured out what you want to do. Most policies have notification time limits — typically 30 days, sometimes less for storm cover.

When you call, you will get a claim number. Write it on everything. Every receipt, every quote, every email.

3. Do emergency works to prevent further damage

Insurance policies require you to "mitigate further loss". Translation: if you do nothing and the damage gets worse, the insurer can refuse the extra. So you have a duty to tarp the hole or stop the leak.

What this looks like in practice:

• Call a roofer for an emergency tarp-up. We do this across BoP within 24 hours of a call. Cost is usually $400 to $900, claimable.
• Move furniture and personal items away from active leaks.
• Set up buckets, towels, fans.
• Keep every single receipt. Tarp materials, dehumidifier hire, replacement linen — all claimable.

Do NOT do permanent repairs at this stage. Tarps and tape are fine. New iron is not.

4. The assessor visit

Within 5 to 15 working days, your insurer will send an assessor (sometimes called a claims handler or loss adjuster). They will measure, photograph, and write up a report for the insurer.

What helps your claim move faster:

• Have your own photos ready. Hand them over on the spot.
• Have the tarp-up invoice ready.
• Be there to walk them around. Point things out.
• If you can, have your own roofer quote on the same day. The assessor likes a comparison number.

5. Getting the work done

After the assessor's report, your insurer will either:

• Cash-settle for the repair value, and you choose your own contractor; or
• Manage the repair via their preferred panel of contractors.

You usually have the right to choose your own contractor, even when the insurer offers their preferred one. Check your policy wording or ask explicitly. If you want us to do the work, ask for cash settlement and we will quote against the assessor's scope.

The four mistakes that cost people thousands

Mistake 1: throwing the damaged sheets away before assessment

Especially on the smaller jobs. A neighbour says "I will help you clean up", you load the broken iron into a trailer, gone. When the assessor arrives, there is nothing to assess.

Fix: Stack damaged materials neatly to one side. Photograph them. Let the assessor see them.

Mistake 2: doing permanent repairs before the claim is approved

You panic, you get a roofer in fast, you have a brand new section of roof by Friday. Then the assessor sees pristine new iron and asks "what damage?" Claim disputed.

Fix: Tarp and tape only until the assessor has signed off. Then do permanent works.

Mistake 3: only photographing the obvious damage

Hailstorm in 2023 took out one corner of a Mt Maunganui roof. The homeowner photographed the broken corner only. The assessor agreed to that, but the rest of the roof had cumulative hail dents which were not visible until you walked it. Months later they realised, by which time the insurer said "out of scope, separate claim".

Fix: Photograph the whole roof, all angles, even the bits that look okay. Things show up later.

Mistake 4: letting the insurer's preferred repairer scope it

Some insurer-panel contractors are great. Some are not. They scope the minimum that fixes the obvious damage, which can mean a 25-year-old roof with one new sheet in the middle of it, ageing badly together. Your roof now has a 5-year-old patch and 20 years of remaining life on the rest.

If you have any doubt, ask for cash settlement and use your own roofer. We will scope honestly — including the bits that need doing now even if they are "ageing damage" that the insurer might argue about. You can decide what to do, not the contractor.

What insurance typically covers (and does not)

• Covered: Storm damage, wind damage, falling trees, hail, sudden water ingress.
• Sometimes covered: Slow leaks if you can show they happened in a single storm event. Border zone.
• Usually NOT covered: Wear and tear (a 35-year-old roof finally failing), poor maintenance, gradual rot, pre-existing damage you knew about and did not fix.

This is why the regular maintenance checks matter so much. An insurer can decline a claim if they decide the damage was waiting to happen and the storm just finished it off.

How long does a claim take?

Honest answer: anywhere from 2 weeks to 9 months, depending on:

• How clean your documentation is (less back-and-forth = faster)
• Whether it is part of a major weather event (cyclones cause backlogs)
• Whether your insurer manages or cash-settles
• Whether the scope is disputed

A standard BoP claim for storm damage on a non-cyclone weekend usually settles in 4 to 8 weeks.

When in doubt, call us first

We do a few hundred insurance jobs a year and know the language. If you have just had damage and you are not sure what to do next, call before you do anything. We can talk you through the steps in 10 minutes, do an emergency tarp-up if you need one, and quote for the actual repair once the assessor has signed off.