Storm-damaged antenna: the Brisbane playbook
Brisbane’s storm season takes antennas every year - and most people handle the next 48 hours in the order that costs them: fix first, photograph never, claim too late. Here is the right order.
By the Topline Antennas crew · Published 24 August 2026 · Brisbane, QLD
Safety, then nothing
The first hour: what not to touch
An antenna hanging by its coax is a falling hazard; one resting on power service lines is an emergency - stay clear and call your electricity distributor’s fault line, not an antenna installer. Wet rooftops after a storm are how DIY repairs become hospital visits: nothing about a TV antenna justifies going up in the wind or the wet. If something is swinging over a path or a neighbour’s property, rope off the area below it and leave the antenna exactly where the storm put it - which is also, conveniently, what your insurer wants.
Before anything moves
The evidence checklist insurers actually use
Storm claims fail on evidence, not on damage. Ten minutes with a phone covers it:
| Capture | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Wide shot of the whole roof from the ground, both sides | Shows the antenna in context and any other storm damage in the same frame - one event, one claim |
| Zoomed shots of the antenna, mount and cable as they lie | The failure mode - snapped boom vs pulled mount - determines what is reinstated |
| Any debris on the ground, before you tidy it | Corroborates wind damage rather than wear |
| The date and rough time of the storm | Insurers match claims against weather records; make it easy |
| A photo of the TV screen’s no-signal message | Ties the roof damage to the loss of service, closing the causation loop |
Then - and only then - it can be made safe. Keep the broken hardware until the claim settles; a skip bin full of evidence is a claim that stalls.
The money and the fix
The claim, then the repair that holds next time
Antenna damage is typically claimed under building insurance as storm damage, often alongside roof and gutter damage from the same event. Two practical numbers decide whether to claim at all: your excess, and the repair quote. A realignment can cost less than a typical excess - claim nothing, just fix it. A destroyed antenna plus damaged cabling usually costs more - claim it, and attach a cause-and-repair report, which insurers ask for and we provide with the callout: what failed, why it was storm and not wear, and the itemised reinstatement.
The part that stops the sequel: storms rarely destroy healthy hardware. What they finish off is corroded saddles, tired lashings and rusted masts - the repair-or-replace guide covers the judgement. When we reinstate after a storm we re-tension the mount, replace weathered fixings and hand you the signal reading - so the next storm season is television, not paperwork.
Antenna down after a storm? Same-week callouts, insurer-ready reports, and a repair that holds → or call 0467 098 943.