A tree fell on your house

When the tree hits a structure

Where a falling tree damages your house or another insured structure, the damage is generally a claim on your own homeowners policy, subject to your deductible and to the perils your policy covers. That includes the contents damaged along with the structure.

Wear still matters. A roof that was already failing before the tree arrived raises the same sudden-versus-gradual question the rest of the policy asks, and roofs are often settled on their own terms.

When it was a neighbour's tree

The tree does not have to have grown on your land for the claim to be yours. If a neighbour's tree falls on your house, you file the claim with your own insurer.

Where negligence can be shown — a diseased tree, or one that was not properly maintained — your insurer may try to collect from your neighbour's policy, a process called subrogation. If that succeeds, you may be reimbursed for your deductible.

It works the other way round too. If your tree falls on a neighbour's home, their property insurer generally pays them. But if the tree was poorly maintained or diseased and you took no steps to deal with it, their insurer may seek reimbursement from you.

Removal is a separate question

Homeowners policies generally do not pay to remove trees or landscaping debris that did not damage an insured structure. A tree that comes down across the garden without hitting anything is usually yours to clear.

Where a tree did hit an insured structure, whether the policy contributes to removing it, and up to what amount, is set out in its debris removal wording. Those amounts vary by insurer and by policy, so read yours rather than assuming a figure.

If it landed on the car

Damage to a vehicle is an auto insurance question rather than a home one. A tree falling on a car is covered under the comprehensive portion of an auto policy, if you carry comprehensive — and a car claim and a house claim from the same tree are separate claims, with separate deductibles.

What to check before storm season

• What your deductible is, and whether a different deductible applies to storm damage on your policy
• What the debris removal wording says about trees
• The state of your own trees, particularly dead, damaged or dangerous branches over the house, and having them removed
• Whether you carry comprehensive on the cars parked under them
• Any concern you have raised with a neighbour about a tree overhanging your property, in writing

After a tree comes down

• Keep clear of the tree and of any downed power lines
• Photograph the damage, the tree, and its trunk and roots before anything is moved
• Prevent further damage where it is safe to, such as covering an opening, and keep the receipts
• Report the claim to your own insurer promptly, even when the tree was a neighbour's