Fences may make good neighbors but what happens when your tree falls over and lands on the fence and your neighbor’s roof?

In an area where hurricanes and tornadoes are a frequent threat, there is always the possibility heavy winds could topple a tree on your property that would land on your neighbor’s property, perhaps even on their house.

While the neighbor may feel victimized and angry, their homeowners policy will have to be used to pay for the damage and any required repairs. Wind and lightning are usually specifically named and covered perils or included in a homeowners all-risk policy.

The standard HO3 homeowners policy dealing with the home’s structure does not have to pay when a tree falls on another person’s property unless the tree owner was negligent in not having a dead tree removed.

And the person whose tree fell over gets another break because his insurance doesn’t have to pay and that means his policy won’t be impacted, meaning, in all likelihood, no insurance premium increase.

However, here’s a cautionary note. Your neighbor might decide to sue you to cover his deductible. In our insurance agency, one of our customer’s trees fell on a neighbor’s fence, destroying some of his neighbor’s fence and damaging his neighbor’s trees.

In the interest of neighborly relations, our customer voluntarily paid for a new peach tree, so between what the neighbor’s insurer paid and what our customer paid, he didn’t have any out-of-pocket expense. Lightning or Wind

In another situation, if a tree falls on your home and the incident happens to involve a covered peril such as lightning, no matter who owned the tree, your insurance company should pay for your home repair.

The major exception to these policy interpretations, is when damage occurs as a result of negligence. If the tree was dead before it fell, and you had proof your neighbor knew or should have known that the tree was dead, the damage becomes your neighbor’s liability.

Conversely, you could be held liable if your tree is dying or dead, it falls on your neighbor’s property, and you did nothing to prevent property damage. Your homeowner’s policy could come into play.

If your neighbor filed a lawsuit against you alleging negligence, your homeowners insurer would be obligated to defend you and investigate the claim.

Legally Responsible
If it turns out that you are legally responsible for the damage to your neighbor’s house, your carrier will pay for damages up to your policy limits. Similarly, your neighbor can simply submit a liability claim against your homeowners insurance policy.

Ask your insurance provider for clarification if your homeowners’ insurance contract isn’t clear on the issue. If you anticipate a problem – such as the possibility of your tree falling – you might consider doing something akin to an ounce of prevention.

If a tree is dead, remove it before it falls. That way you can head off the potential for a bigger bill later and stay on good terms with your neighbor.

Jim McCafferty is President of The Members Insurance Company. Call AAA Insurance for more details at (877) 766-6222 or visit us atAAA.com/insurance.