After a named storm rolls through central Scotland, the phones start. A ridge tile in the garden, a wet patch on the landing ceiling, a neighbour's slate on the car. The damage is obvious to you. The question is whether it is obvious to a loss adjuster who was never there.
What insurers actually want to see
Storm damage claims turn on three things: that the damage exists, that it is storm-related rather than long-term wear, and that it happened around the date you say it did. Every one of those is an evidence problem.
- Dated photographs showing the damage clearly and in context on the roof
- The location of each fault — which elevation, which course, near which chimney or valley
- A view of the surrounding roof so the adjuster can see the condition it was in generally
- Something written, describing each fault and how serious it is
Why ground-level phone photos rarely do it
A photograph taken from the pavement shows a roof at a steep angle, usually against a bright sky, with the damaged area the size of a thumbnail. It proves something is wrong; it does not prove what, where, or how bad. That is the gap most claims fall into — and the gap that gets filled with the phrase 'wear and tear'.
What a drone inspection gives you
A drone flies level with the ridge and straight down the valleys, so a lifted flashing or a cracked hip tile is photographed close up, in focus, with the surrounding roof visible for context. Every elevation is covered, not just the one you can see from the street — which matters, because storm damage from a south-westerly usually lands on the elevation you cannot see.
The report puts each finding on the photograph it appears in, circled, described in plain English and graded for severity, with the date of the flight on it. That is a document you can forward to an insurer, a factor or a solicitor without further explanation.
Tenements and factored blocks
Shared roofs are harder because the claim is usually the factor's, and getting anyone up there needs access through several flats. A single drone flight photographs the whole block, including rear elevations and light wells, in one visit — which is often what unlocks a stalled factor conversation.
The order to do things in
- Make the property safe and photograph anything that has come down, where it landed
- Note the date and the storm name — insurers cross-reference Met Office records
- Get the roof photographed properly within a week or two, while it is clearly storm-fresh
- Report the claim with the photographic report attached rather than a description
- Get repair quotes against the report, so every roofer prices the same scope
We do not do the repairs — deliberately
AyeInspect never quotes for or carries out roofing work. That independence is exactly why the report carries weight: we have nothing to gain from finding more damage than is there. Fixed £99 for a house across Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Stirling and Paisley, with the report inside 24 hours.