Homeowner’s insurance is designed to cover losses from sudden and accidental losses such as fallen trees.
Although this can be carrier specific, most often in order for your insurance policy to respond, the fallen tree must damage a covered structure insured under the policy such as your home, shed, fence, etc.
If a tree falls and does not cause any structural damage, this is often the responsibility of the property owner, and the Home Insurance policy would not respond.
If a tree falls from a neighboring property and damages your home, coverage would come from your Homeowner policy, not your neighbor’s policy. It does not matter in this case who owns the tree.
If the tree was dead, diseased, or rotting prior to its collapse your insurer may later determine that the liability falls on the neighbor; however, this would have to be investigated and proven.
To avoid these unfortunate events, inspect your trees regularly for issues like disease, rotting, and uprooting. Tree specialists recommend that pruning of branches is best done in late fall and winter months. If you have a questionable tree, many arborists will inspect trees free of charge.
If you have a tree that fell on your house, call one of our Insurance advisors and let us help you through the process! 781-826-5161