What Happens When – Your Neighbor’s Tree Ends up in Your Backyard?

It happened all the sudden. A client called me saying their neighbor’s tree had fallen in to their back yard.

It smashed their Fence and wiped out a shed.

Not a far-fetched situation at all – the home was built in the early 1970’s and some of the trees in the area are starting to go past mature and are dying.

Naturally, I figured that the neighbor would be responsible – of course they had the yard with 2 foot grass in it. It was natural to assume that the insurance of the person whose tree would cover the claim.

If it was a Hurricane / Windstorm, the answer would be unclear as those claims are handled a little differently than usual homeowner’s claims.

We don’t get hurricanes in California (just earthquakes)… so the answer was not the neighbor’s home policy! My Client’s homeowner’s policy will end up paying off on the claim – and this would work the same even in Hurricane areas!

Fortunately, in the situation of my client – the damage was less than the deductible on his Home policy.

Let it be a word to the wise to check all around your property for trees with the potential to do more than just shed in to your backyard – have a look at the health of the tree and maybe even talk to your neighbors about trimming them.

How would the claim have been handled? -

1. My client’s policy also included a special replacement cost provision for the fence. It is common for companies to depreciate the fence in the event of a claim because fences get rotten. So, double-check with your agent or broker as to how your company would handle replacing your fence if it is damaged or destroyed. (If you have fences between homes in your area…)

2. The Shed? Since the policy covered replacement cost contents the client figured that the policy would replace the shed as well. He was right – but the shed was covered under “other structures coverage” or coverage “B”. If you have a pool, you will need to double-check your policy to make sure there is enough coverage to fix your pool and replace your sheds if you have them. Most policies limit Coverage “B” to 10% of the Primary Coverage.

Had the damage been more significant the client would have had a lousy choice – take the claim and let his home rates potentially go up, or take his neighbor to small claims court.

That is not a tasteful scenario at all for my client. No one wants a “Judge Judy” situation in their own backyard…

Fortunately, since my client is with a reputable company – his claim would have been handled in short order and his policy would not have been affected in any way.

You carry homeowner’s insurance because you don’t know what’s going to happen. But, let this situation be a word to the wise about some of the interesting contingencies that can occur.

Curious about your Insurance? Take a look at what Homeowner’s Insurance Rates and Coverage we can do for you!