Does a tree make a sound if it falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it?
January 30th, 2012Now what if a tree falls on my car or my neighbors or my tenants car, will my homeowners policy cover the damage? Like any answer with insurance, it depends. You have to look at each situation independently and consider all of the factors to make a proper determination.
With the high winds that we had just over a week ago I had a number of people ask this question. I had two situations, the first a tree fell not only on a clients house, but also his neighbors car and his car as well. The second scenario was a tree on a landlord’s property fell on his tenants car. In both cases the trees fell due to the high winds.
So the question remains, will your homeowners’ or landlord policy cover the damage to your neighbor’s or tenant’s car? In both of these cases the answer is a resounding no. The neighbor and the tenant would have to rely on their own auto insurance to pay for the damage, and they have hopefully purchased comprehensive coverage to cover this type of damage.
The homeowners’ and the landlord policies wouldn’t respond to the damage because the homeowner and the landlord did not cause the damage. The damage was the result of “an act of God” A.K.A. “mother nature”. They cannot control the weather. The trees were otherwise healthy trees that had been around for a number of years showing no apparent signs of deterioration.
Now this case would be different if the homeowner knew that the tree was deteriorating and would pose a potential risk to property around it. Say for instance the neighbor or tenant mentioned to the homeowner or landlord that they were concerned for their property because they can see that the tree is infested with termites and woodpeckers and other insects that are slowing destroying the tree. And the homeowner or landlord’s response was “I don’t care, it’s not endangering my property and I’m not paying to have it taken down, I’ll just wait for it to come down on it’s own. Now if the tree fell on the neighbor’s or tenants car, the homeowner or landlord policy would provide coverage to the neighbor and tenant. The homeowner or landlord would have been aware of the situation and did nothing to remedy it.
So if you are a homeowner or a landlord be sure to inspect the trees around your property that could pose potential danger to people or their property and have them pruned or taken down if necessary. If you are a neighbor or tenant of someone that has a tree that you see as a potential danger due to the deteriorated state of the tree, notify the neighbor or landlord in writing of your concerns so they can properly address them.
If you would like a FREE no obligation auto or homeowners insurance quote, give us a call at 585-663-2004.


