Thatcher and Thatching Contractor Insurance
Thatching is one of very few trades whose entire insurance position is decided by a single peril.
Everything Follows From Fire
A thatched roof is a thick layer of dry organic material on top of a house, usually an old one, often listed, frequently with a chimney running through it. Fire in a thatch spreads across the whole roof and is extremely difficult to stop, so the loss is rarely partial. Everything an insurer thinks about this trade follows from that: what you do with hot work, what you leave on site, how you deal with chimneys, and what you say about them.
The work itself is physical, at height, on old timber of unknown condition, in all weather, usually with the roof open to the elements for part of the job. But the claim that ends a business is a fire.
What Thatcher Insurance Covers
Public liability, with fire clearly addressed
The central question. Injury and damage to third parties including the building you are thatching, where a fire is almost always a total roof loss.
Damage to the property worked on
A thatched house is frequently listed and the reinstatement is consented repair in traditional materials, which is not a modern rebuild cost.
Weather damage while the roof is open
A stripped roof exposed to rain, where the loss is the interior of somebody's home rather than your materials.
Employers' liability
Compulsory at a £5 million statutory minimum. Work at height on fragile old roofs, manual handling of bundles and ladder work.
Materials on site
Reed and straw delivered in quantity, which is combustible, valuable, weather sensitive and frequently stored in the garden of the property.
Tools and equipment
Leggetts, needles, shearing equipment, ladders and scaffolding, in the van and on site.
Professional indemnity where you advise
Advising on fire barriers, chimney work or whether a roof needs stripping is advice a homeowner acts on. Mechanics on our professional indemnity page.
Where The Cover Stops
Wordings differ between insurers, so treat these as the usual position rather than as universal fact. Where one of them matters to you, it is worth checking on your own schedule before you need to.
Hot works near thatch
The single most important condition. Most policies prohibit or heavily condition hot work on or near a thatched roof, and breaching it will decide a fire claim.
Fire after completion
A fire weeks after you finish may be traced to the chimney, the flashing or a fire barrier, which is why what you recorded about the chimney matters.
Chimneys you did not inspect
Most thatch fires involve the chimney. A roof thatched around a defective flue is a claim waiting, and advising on it is both a duty and an exposure.
Open roof and rain
Stripping a roof means the house is protected only by your sheeting. A wet night damages ceilings, floors and contents.
Listed building consent
Materials and methods on a listed thatch may be specified by consent, and departing from it is a compliance problem as well as a quality one.
Storage of reed and straw
A large quantity of combustible material stored beside the house being thatched is both a fire risk and a theft and weather risk.
Hot Work Is The Line You Do Not Cross
If there is one condition in this trade worth knowing by heart, it is whatever your policy says about hot work near thatch.
Angle grinders, blow torches, hot lead work, bitumen, disc cutters and anything else producing sparks or flame near a dry organic roof is the mechanism by which thatch fires start on a working day. Sparks travel, lodge in the thatch, smoulder for hours and ignite after everybody has left. That delay is why thatch fires are frequently discovered at night, and why the fire is well established by the time anybody sees smoke.
Most policies covering thatching either prohibit hot work on or near the thatch outright or impose strict conditions: no hot work within a stated distance, a fire watch for a stated period after work finishes, extinguishers at the work position, and nothing hot in the final part of the day. Those are conditions rather than guidance, and a breach is likely to decide the claim. Where lead work or cutting genuinely has to happen, it is a planning question answered before the day rather than a decision made on the roof.
Most Thatch Fires Are Chimney Fires
The thing that actually sets thatched roofs alight is usually not the thatcher. It is the flue, and that creates an awkward exposure for whoever thatched around it.
Heat transfer through an unlined or defective chimney, sparks from a wood burner on a dry roof, a flue that was fine with an open fire but not with a modern high output stove, and inadequate separation between the flue and the thatch are the recognised causes. A roof thatched neatly around a chimney in poor condition will burn eventually, and after it does, the question asked is what the thatcher saw and what the thatcher said.
So the chimney goes into the record whether or not it is your work. Photograph it, note its condition, note the appliance the house is using if you can see it, and put in writing where you recommend a sweep, a liner, a cowl, a spark arrestor or a specialist inspection before the thatch goes on. Where the homeowner declines, that refusal in writing is the difference between a defensible position and an indefensible one. It is also worth knowing fire barriers and boards exist and being able to explain them, because a homeowner who was never told about them has a complaint.
The House Is Open To The Sky
The claim that happens most often in thatching has nothing to do with fire. It is water getting into a home while the roof is off.
Stripping a roof to the rafters, or taking off a substantial area, means the only thing between a family's house and the weather is your sheeting. A night of wind and rain with a sheet that lifted, a gutter blocked by debris from the strip, or a valley left open produces water through ceilings onto floors, furniture and possessions. The householder is living there while it happens. The loss is their interior, not your reed.
Which makes temporary protection part of the trade rather than an inconvenience. Sheeting sized and fixed for the weather forecast rather than for a calm day, battens and weights rather than tucked edges, the roof closed down at the end of each day rather than left open on optimism, a check that rainwater has somewhere to go, and the occupants told what to do and who to call if water appears overnight. On a long job, a temporary roof over the work is cheaper than one serious water claim.
Reed In The Garden Is A Fire Risk Of Its Own
A detail easy to overlook: the material waiting to go on the roof is as flammable as the material already up there, and it is sitting next to the house.
A thatching job involves bundles delivered in bulk, stored wherever there is space, which on a village property means the garden, the drive or against an outbuilding. Dry reed or straw in quantity is an easy target for a careless cigarette or deliberate ignition, and a stack alight beside a thatched house threatens the roof directly. It is also valuable, weather sensitive and attractive to thieves.
So the storage arrangement deserves thought rather than convenience: material kept away from the building and from boundaries where passers-by can reach it, covered and secured, quantities on site kept to what the next phase needs rather than the whole job, and nothing stored against the house itself. On an unoccupied or holiday property, that matters more rather than less, because there is nobody to notice. Check how your policy treats materials in the open as well, since values here can be significant.
How To Choose A Broker For Thatching
There is one clause and one condition that matter. We are an FCA regulated broker and will not tell you we are the best choice. These are the questions that decide it.
Exactly what does the policy say about hot work?
Prohibited outright, or conditioned on distance, fire watch and timing. A breach is likely to decide a fire claim.
Is fire damage to the roof you worked on covered?
A thatch fire is almost always a total roof loss on a building that is frequently listed, so reinstatement is consented traditional repair.
Is water damage while the roof is open covered?
This is the frequent claim, and the loss is the householder's interior rather than your materials.
How are materials in the open treated?
Bundles of reed stored in a garden are combustible, valuable and exposed, and some policies limit property in the open.
Has the chimney position been discussed?
A broker who raises flues, liners and spark arrestors understands what actually sets thatched roofs alight.
Does the limit reflect a listed building?
Reinstatement of a listed thatched property is a consented repair cost rather than a modern rebuild figure.
Factually, here is what we do against those questions. We get the hot work condition in writing and make sure you know exactly what it says, we confirm fire damage to the roof you worked on is covered and that the limit reflects a listed building, we check water damage while the roof is open sits inside the cover because that is the frequent claim, and we tell you to record chimney condition and any declined recommendation in writing. We are a broker, so it goes to several insurers rather than one.
We also insure roofers, chimney and flue liners and stonemasons, so old roofs, flues and listed fabric are familiar ground here.
What Moves The Price
Every policy is priced on the business behind it. These are the things that move the premium:
- What the policy says about hot work near thatch
- Whether fire damage to the roof worked on is covered
- Whether the properties are listed
- Whether you strip roofs fully or carry out repairs and ridges
- Temporary weather protection arrangements
- Quantities and storage of reed and straw on site
- The limit of indemnity your contracts require
- Claims history, particularly fire and water ingress
We are a broker, so we take it to several insurers rather than quoting one. Call 02382 000820 for a quote.
What We Need To Quote
- The thatching work you carry out and materials used
- Whether properties worked on are typically listed
- Whether any hot work is ever carried out, and how
- Your temporary weather protection method
- How reed and straw are stored on site, and quantities
- Whether you advise on or install fire barriers
- The limit of indemnity required, and who requires it
- Any claims in five years, including water ingress
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this policy.
- RoofersThe conventional roofing trade, and the same open roof risk.
- Chimney and flue liningWhat actually sets thatched roofs alight.
- StonemasonsThe other heritage trade working on listed fabric.
- Listed and heritage propertyWhat your clients insure, and why thatch is rated apart.
- Fire protection contractorsBarriers, detection and suppression in old buildings.
- Talk to a brokerAsk us exactly what your hot work condition says.
Common questions
What insurance do thatchers need?+
Public liability with fire clearly addressed, including damage to the roof and building you are working on, because a thatch fire is almost always a total roof loss on a property that is frequently listed and therefore reinstated as consented traditional repair. Then cover for water damage while the roof is open, which is the frequent claim, materials in the open given that reed and straw are stored on site in quantity, employers' liability at a £5 million statutory minimum, tools and access equipment, and professional indemnity where you advise on fire barriers or chimney work.
Can we do hot work on a thatched roof?+
Check your policy and treat the answer as a hard line, because this is the condition most likely to decide a fire claim. Most wordings covering thatching either prohibit hot work on or near the thatch outright or impose strict conditions: a minimum distance, a fire watch for a stated period after work finishes, extinguishers at the work position, and nothing hot in the last part of the day. Sparks lodge in dry thatch, smoulder for hours and ignite after everybody has left, which is why thatch fires are often discovered at night with the fire already established.
Am I liable if a thatched roof catches fire months later?+
You may be drawn into it, because most thatch fires involve the chimney rather than the thatching. Heat transfer through an unlined or defective flue, sparks from a wood burner, a flue that suited an open fire but not a modern high output stove, and inadequate separation between flue and thatch are the recognised causes, and the question asked afterwards is what the thatcher saw and said. So record chimney condition whether or not it is your work, photograph it, and put recommendations for a sweep, liner, cowl or specialist inspection in writing. A declined recommendation in writing is your defence.
Who pays if rain gets in while the roof is off?+
It is the commonest claim in the trade and the loss is the householder's interior rather than your reed, so it needs to be inside your cover. Stripping to the rafters leaves only your sheeting between a family's home and the weather, and a lifted sheet, a gutter blocked by strip debris or an open valley puts water through ceilings onto floors and possessions while people are living there. Sheet for the forecast rather than a calm day, close the roof down at the end of each day, and on a long job price a temporary roof rather than risk one serious water claim.
Does storing reed on site affect my insurance?+
It is worth raising, for two reasons. A quantity of dry reed or straw beside a thatched house is combustible, so a stack alight threatens the roof directly, and it is also valuable, weather sensitive and attractive to thieves. Many policies limit cover for property in the open, and values here can be significant. Keep material away from the building and from boundaries where passers-by can reach it, covered and secured, with only what the next phase needs on site rather than the whole job, and never stored against the house. On an unoccupied property that matters more, not less.
Who insures thatchers in the UK?+
A small specialist market, because the fire exposure is unusual in both likelihood and severity and most general trades policies are not written with a combustible roof in mind. It is placed through brokers. What separates placements is exactly what the hot work condition says, whether fire damage to the roof you worked on is covered and at a limit reflecting a listed building, whether water damage while the roof is open is inside the cover, and how materials in the open are treated.
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