Choosing a contractor
Roofing Guarantees: Workmanship Cover and Insurance Backing
A roofing guarantee is only as good as whoever stands behind it, which is why a workmanship warranty from a trading company and an insurance-backed guarantee underwritten by a third party are different products. Search what the roofing guarantee means in practice, compare the figures, and book a survey. What it covers: Workmanship warranty · Insurance-backed guarantee.
Three different products carry one word in this trade, and the difference between them is who stands behind the promise.
Three products carry the one word: a workmanship warranty, an insurance-backed guarantee and a manufacturer warranty.
Guarantee periods differ by contractor, material and scheme, and a twenty-year promise from a two-year-old company is worth comparing against a shorter one with third-party backing. Ask whether it transfers on sale, ask what is excluded — storm damage, neglect, third-party interference and pre-existing defects are the usual four — and take the certificate, because a verbal promise is not a guarantee.
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What kinds of roofing guarantee are there?
Three: a workmanship warranty from the contractor covering their own labour, an insurance-backed guarantee from a third party honouring that warranty if the contractor stops trading, and a manufacturer warranty covering the material itself.
A workmanship warranty is the contractor's own promise to remedy defects in their work. Worth nothing if the company ceases trading.
What is an insurance-backed guarantee?
An insurance-backed guarantee is a policy taken out by the contractor with an independent provider, which honours the workmanship warranty if the contractor ceases trading. It converts a promise into cover that survives the company.
A manufacturer warranty means covers the material itself, separately from the installation. Manufacturer warranties frequently depend on accredited installation. Guarantee periods differ by contractor, material and scheme.
What do guarantees not cover?
Guarantees typically exclude storm damage, neglect and failure to maintain, damage caused by third parties working on the roof, pre-existing defects outside the scope of works, and consequential internal damage.
- Whether the guarantee passes to a new owner on sale; an insurance-backed guarantee must be registered with the provider to exist.
Does the guarantee transfer if you sell?
Sometimes. Transferability depends on the terms, and it materially affects the guarantee's value to a buyer. Ask the question before the work rather than discovering the answer during a sale.
Small repairs are commonly outside any long-term guarantee.
- Documentation practical: the certificate is the guarantee; a verbal promise is not one
- A workmanship warranty depends on the company continuing to trade.
Is a longer guarantee better?
No, not by itself. A twenty-year promise from a company two years old is worth less than a ten-year promise underwritten by a third party. Backing and trading history matter more than the stated term.
- An insurance-backed guarantee is honoured by a third party, if the contractor ceases trading.
- A manufacturer warranty covers the material, not the installation.
- Registration with the provider is what makes the guarantee exist.
The certificate is the guarantee.
Why registration matters
Workmanship warranty, insurance-backed guarantee and manufacturer warranty are distinct, and the trade uses one word for all three. Transferability on sale materially affects value and is almost never volunteered.
Getting the terms in writing
An insurance-backed guarantee only exists once registered with the provider, so the certificate is the thing to obtain. Guarantee length means little without trading history or third-party backing, and comparing the two is the useful test.
Workmanship warranty, and 4 more
- workmanship warranty
- insurance-backed guarantee
- manufacturer warranty
- transferability
- accredited installer
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