Does home insurance cover trees falling?
Short answer. Yes, if a tree falls on your house or another insured structure, your own homeowners policy generally pays for the damage, no matter whose yard the tree came from. The neighbor's insurance usually gets involved only if the tree was dead, diseased or visibly dangerous and the neighbor was negligent in leaving it, and a tree that falls without hitting anything is mostly your own cost to clear.
Whose tree, whose house
- Your tree, your house: your policy, minus your deductible.
- Neighbor's tree, your house: still your policy first. If the tree was obviously dead or rotten and the neighbor ignored it, your insurer may recover what it paid from the neighbor's insurer, and you may get your deductible back.
- Your tree, neighbor's house: their policy pays for their house. You are usually liable only if you were negligent, for example if you knew the tree was dying and did nothing.
- Any tree, hitting nothing: removal is usually your cost, except limited coverage when it blocks a driveway or a ramp for a person with a disability.
Why a healthy tree changes things
A healthy tree blown over in a storm is treated as an act of nature. No one is at fault, so each owner's insurance covers its own property. Negligence comes into play only when a tree's condition was known, or should have been known, to be dangerous.
Protecting your claim
- Photograph and video the tree on the structure from several angles before it is cut.
- Photograph the stump and break point; rot or hollow trunks matter in a neighbor dispute.
- Keep any written warnings you gave a neighbor about a dead tree.
- Get a tree service to remove it safely, then cover the roof.
- Report the claim to your insurer and let it decide about pursuing the neighbor.
Preventing the next one
If a neighbor's tree looks dead or leans toward your home, tell them in writing. That notice can matter later.
More: wind damage claims and your duty to tarp and mitigate.