Insurance
Aerial evidence for claims and underwriting. High-resolution imagery of the parts of a building nobody can safely reach, captured within days and dated for the file.
Most insurance disputes about a building are arguments about evidence. What was the condition before the storm? Is that crack new? Was the flashing already failing? Did the tile come off this roof or the neighbour’s? The answers are usually visible from the air and almost never visible from the pavement.
We photograph roofs, elevations and sites at close range without scaffold, ladders or a cherry picker, and supply a dated set of imagery that a loss adjuster, an insurer, a broker or a policyholder can all look at and draw their own conclusions from. Attendance is usually within days rather than weeks, which matters when a claim is running and a roof is open to the weather.
The work splits roughly in two. Some is reactive — a storm has happened, and somebody needs to see the damage properly. Some is preventative — a portfolio is being underwritten or renewed, and the insurer wants to know what they are taking on before they price it.
What it shows
- Storm damage to tiles, slates, ridges, flashings and rainwater goods
- Impact damage from fallen trees, branches and debris
- Missing, slipped and displaced coverings across the whole roof, not just the visible slope
- Failed leadwork, soakers and abutment detail behind a leak
- Ponding and blocked outlets on flat roofs
- Fire damage extent, seen from above where a ground view cannot reach
- Escape-of-water routes — where the ingress point actually is
- Pre-existing wear, previous repairs and long-standing defects
- Condition of neighbouring property where a claim crosses a boundary
- Site-wide damage across a portfolio or an estate in one visit
- What a roof looked like on a specific, recorded date
Save time and money on a claim — every slope photographed, dated and on the file within days.
Get in touchEvidence gathered before the argument starts
The weakness in most claim photography is that it is selective and late. Somebody photographs the damaged area, weeks after the event, from ground level, at an angle that does not settle anything.
A complete, dated aerial set removes most of that. Every slope is recorded whether or not anyone expected trouble there, at a resolution that shows individual components, on a date that is on the file.
It also settles the argument that costs the most to have: whether the damage is storm-related or the end of a long, slow deterioration. That question is far easier to answer honestly when you can see the whole roof rather than one corner of it.
What you get
Close enough to see an individual cracked tile or a lifted flashing, at a safe standoff, without anyone going up.
Every file carries its capture date. In a claim, that date is often the whole point.
Every slope and elevation, not only the one somebody was worried about — which is what stops a second visit later.
What was flown, what is visible, and what could not be seen. Observations, not opinions on cause or liability.
Usually within days of instruction, weather permitting, because a claim under way does not wait comfortably.
Standard formats a claims system will accept without conversion.
Why The Date On The File Matters More Than Anything
Almost every contested building claim turns on one question: what was the condition immediately before the event? Whoever can answer that with evidence usually wins the argument, and it is rarely the person who photographed the damage afterwards.
Two situations where a dated aerial set changes the outcome:
- A storm claim on an older roof. The insurer's position is often that the covering was already failing. A complete set of imagery from before the event, or immediately after it, is what separates the two.
- A portfolio taken on at renewal. Recording the stock at the point of underwriting means every subsequent claim has a baseline to be measured against.
The cost of recording a roof properly is trivial against a single disputed claim, and there is exactly one moment at which the question can be answered honestly.
Evidence, Not Opinion — And Why That Is The Point
We are a photographic and survey operation, not a claims consultancy, and the boundary is worth being precise about.
What we provide:
- Complete, dated, high-resolution imagery of every roof slope and elevation
- A factual note of what is visible, what is not, and what was flown
- The same standard of capture on every visit, so two dates can be compared
What we do not provide:
- An opinion on cause, liability or whether a policy responds
- A structural or condition assessment, or any professional opinion on defects
- Thermal or moisture investigation
- A chartered surveyor's report — ours supports one rather than replaces it
An adjuster does not need a photographer's view on causation. They need to see the whole roof clearly, on a known date. That is what we do.
Who asks for it
- Loss adjusters
- Insurers and underwriters
- Insurance brokers
- Policyholders and their contractors
- Property managers handling a claim
- Solicitors in a disputed claim
- Surveyors preparing a reinstatement assessment
What clients get from working with us
Timescales
Most sites are surveyed within two working days of instruction, with reports sent 24 hours after surveys.
Deliverables
Orthomosaics, 3D models, point clouds, elevation sets and edited media, supplied in the formats your team already works in.
Coverage
Operating throughout the East and West Midlands, Yorkshire and East Anglia.
Compliance
Fully authorised and insured, with a site-specific risk assessment issued before every attendance.
Continuity
One point of contact from enquiry to delivery. Data is processed in-house and is never passed to a third-party bureau.
Certainty
A fixed written quotation against an agreed deliverable. No day rates and no variation after the event.
Questions
Do you give an opinion on the cause of the damage?
No, and that is deliberate. We supply the imagery and describe what is visible in it. Determining cause, liability and policy response is the adjuster's or the surveyor's job, and a photographer offering that opinion would only weaken the file.
How quickly can you attend?
Usually within a few days, weather allowing. Tell us at enquiry if it is urgent and we will say honestly whether we can meet the date.
Can you fly if the property is occupied or the street is busy?
Usually. We complete a site-specific risk assessment for every attendance and plan the flight around people, traffic and adjoining property. Where we cannot fly safely, we say so rather than take the booking.
Will the imagery stand up if the claim is disputed?
It is a dated, complete photographic record with no editing beyond ordinary exposure correction, and we can say exactly when and how it was captured. That is what makes it useful. It is not a chartered surveyor's report, and it does not replace one.
Can you photograph the neighbour's property too?
From the air we can often record the elevations and roof facing your site without setting foot on their land. Where the flight would overfly their property we raise it with you at the quotation stage rather than on the day.
Do you do thermal imaging for escape of water?
No. That needs a radiometric thermal camera on a different airframe. We can show you the roof condition and where water is most likely getting in, but tracing damp thermally is a different instruction and a different supplier.
Can you record a portfolio before renewal?
Yes, and it is usually much better value than individual visits. Send the addresses and we will quote it as one programme.
Tell us about the site and we will take it from there
A site postcode and a sentence about what you need is enough to get started.
Get in touch
Provide a site postcode or boundary and a short description of the required output. We will confirm the deliverables, level of detail.
- A site postcode is sufficient to price most instructions
- Written quotation, in most cases the same working day
- Deliverables and formats agreed at instruction
info@midlandsaerialsurveys.co.uk
Stamford, Lincolnshire