Simply Explaining Insurance #70- Trees falling on houses

If your tree falls on your neighbors house and no one hears it, is it covered?

I jest a little, but this question gets asked regularly in my agency. I did some research with a claims supervisor and found out that trees falling on houses, are considered an act of god. Acts of god are covered on your homeowners policy much like a wind storm or hail storm.

Whosoever house is damaged is whose policy is used. If your neighbors tree falls on your house, it’s your policy that is used to fix the damage. I am sure you are wondering, what if the tree was dead and my neighbor is negligent? You would need to prove with a paper trail, that this topic has been discussed between you and your neighbor. Then you would have to show that nothing was done to rectify a potential hazard.

I discuss a few more scenarios in this 7 minute podcast, including, public trees, trees damaging cars, and how to cover trees on your policy from wind and hail.