24/7 Emergency Service
What Happens If Your Neighbor’s Tree Falls On Your House?
9/30/2020 (Permalink)
Fallen trees can cause a headache - from figuring out who's responsible for the damages to repairing your home.
If you’re ever in the unfortunate situation of having your neighbor’s tree fall on your house, you may not be sure who is responsible to cover the damages. Who files an insurance claim? Who would pay? Here, we will run through the different scenarios of what happens if a tree falls on your house or your neighbor’s.
Who Covers the Damages From A Fallen Tree?
Scenario 1: Neighbor's tree (or your own) falls on your house
When a tree falls on your home, regardless of where it came from, you are responsible for filing an insurance claim or paying for any tree removal. The only thing that matters when dealing with the damage from a fallen tree is where it fell and why.
Scenario 2: Your tree falls on your neighbor's house
If a tree on your property falls on to your neighbors home, you can consider yourself 'lucky' because it will be up to your neighbor's homeowner insurance to cover the damages, just as if their tree came down on to your home.
Scenario 3: A neighbor's tree damages your house, but you suspect it was because it was old, damaged, or weak.
In these cases, insurance does not want to cover any damages or tree removal because there was a form of negligence or a maintenance related issue. If you feel like your neighbor has a tree that could damage your home, take steps to try and get them to remove the tree and document it. Then, if the dying tree does fall on your home, you can try and argue to have it covered by insurance due to your neighbors negligence.
Fallen trees are commonly only covered when caused by a 'named peril', such as high winds, lightning, vandalism, or a car crash.
Common Questions:
What if the tree doesn't damage your home?
According to Allstate, if a tree falls on your house and causes no damages, insurance will not cover the cost of removing the tree (and in these cases it may not be worth it to file the claim anyways depending on your deductible).
What does tree removal cost without insurance?
The cost of tree removal is on average $500-$1,200, making it less than many homeowner's deductibles. If the tree that fell (and didn't damage your home) was your neighbors, you can always try and seek reimbursement afterwards, though this may put a strain your neighborly relationship.
How much do fallen tree insurance claims usually cost?
According to Consumer Reports, the average amount paid by insurance companies for fallen tree claims was $4,110, and was only 7 percent of all settled claims.
What if a neighbor's tree just falls in my yard, not even on my house?
As mentioned earlier, when a tree falls and causes no damages it will not be covered by your homeowner's policy. You will be responsible for all debris cleanup and removal yourself.