Storm is the most frequent natural-catastrophe loss: it returns every year, targeting the weak points of business premises – roofs, skylights, signage, gates. Cover is part of the basic package, yet the details vary enormously.
- Storm cover is part of the base package: the wording typically ties what counts as a storm to a wind-speed threshold.
- Storm's companion is water ingress: damage from rain pouring in through a breached roof typically forms part of the storm loss.
- Maintenance is a condition here too: the insurer can dispute a claim caused by a roof in poor condition.
What does the wording consider a storm?
A storm, for insurance purposes, isn't a feeling but a definition: the wording typically states a wind-speed threshold and specifies which accompanying phenomena are included. Damage from precipitation pouring in through a storm-breached roof is typically part of the storm loss – but rain coming in through a window left open is not. Definitions and exclusions are decisive here too: how to read your policy wording.
The typical storm wounds on business premises
A breached metal roof or sandwich panel, broken skylights, damaged gates and shopfronts, a torn-off gutter, a fence blown down, a facade sign ripped off – and, following all of these, water-damaged goods. On warehouse premises, the roof's condition is the key question: a well-maintained roof not only prevents damage, it also strengthens the company's position in a claim, because the insurer can dispute the settlement by pointing to neglected condition.
Separate rules and limits can apply to assets stored outdoors – it's worth knowing what can be kept outside, and what can't.
After the storm: documentation and preservation
The first task after a storm is preventing further damage – sheeting, temporary covering – and the second is documentation: photograph everything before anything is dismantled. Reporting via the insurer's claims line or online portal is fastest; for major storm events, insurers specifically prepare for mass claim volumes. The detailed to-do list: after storm damage.
Hail: the quiet roof-killer
Hail doesn't always punch a dramatic hole: micro-cracks in corrugated fibre-cement sheeting, bitumen shingles, or solar panels can surface as leaks months later. That's why it's worth having a roof inspection after hail even without visible damage – and reporting any damage found as soon as possible, since a late report makes proving the claim harder. It's worth separately confirming, at inception, that solar panels and additional structures are covered.
At the boundaries of storm cover, it's worth clarifying two questions already at inception: what rule applies to storm damage of assets stored outdoors (pallets, machinery left outside, containers), and whether signage, canopies, and solar panels are included in the insured assets. These are typically items that don't appear automatically in either the building or the stock sum insured – yet at claim time, the first question is where they were.
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