Who Pays When Your Tree Falls Onto a Neighbor’s Property?

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If a tree falls onto your neighbor’s property but no one is around to hear it, is it covered by your insurance?

The answer lies in what toppled the tree—such as a storm—how well you cared for the tree before it fell, and whether the fallen tree damaged property.

Typically, if a tree—or branches or limbs—falls onto a home, garage, shed or fence because of a storm, homeowners insurance covers the damage and the cost to remove the tree. If there is no damage to structures, fallen-tree removal likely won’t be covered by insurance.

Here are a few common scenarios for when your tree falls onto a neighbor’s property and whether your home insurance is likely to pay for any damage.

You’ll probably need to pay …

• If the tree was known to be diseased, dead or neglected.
• If you were cutting the tree without professional help.
• If the tree was a clear danger to your neighbor’s property and your neighbor has evidence (such as a written request for you to prune it)

Your neighbor will need to pay …

• If the tree was healthy and fell or dropped a limb due to a storm. Acts of nature are nobody’s fault, and so you won’t be responsible for the damage to your neighbor’s property.
• If you can show that you’ve had an arborist properly maintaining your tree.

Important tip to avoid these scenarios

Even though homeowners insurance doesn’t cover the cost of removing a tree or branches that haven’t fallen, it’s smart to have a professional come prune or remove a problem tree before it causes damage.