Does Home Insurance Cover Tree Removal After a Storm?

Most homeowners insurance policies cover tree removal after a storm, but not all. The manner in which the tree was felled, as well as where it landed, will determine whether your homeowners insurance company will cover the cost.

When does homeowners insurance cover tree removal after a storm?

The extent of your coverage is determined by the cause of the tree collapse as well as the location of the fall. The table below provides a quick overview of when your insurer will or will not cover tree removal:

*Fire, lightning, explosion, riot, aircraft, vehicles not owned by you, vandalism or theft

So, if a storm blew a tree onto your house or any other structure on your property, such as a shed, the cost of removal would be covered. If, on the other hand, the storm simply blew the tree into your yard, causing no damage, your insurance company will not cover the cost of removal. However, if the cause of the collapse was fire, lightning, explosion, riot, aircraft, vehicles not owned by you, vandalism, or theft, the tree removal would be covered if it fell on your home or in an empty lot.

Another reason you might not be covered is if the tree fell down due to natural causes such as age, rot, and so on. Insurance companies will not cover events that could have been avoided, and insurers may believe you could have removed the tree before the storm hit.

You must obtain separate flood and earthquake insurance policies for earthquakes and floods, so your standard homeowners policy will not cover you.

Special situations

If the tree began in your neighbor's yard and fell into your yard or home, your homeowners insurance would still cover the removal for the same reasons we discussed above. However, in this case, your insurer may attempt to recoup its losses from your neighbor's insurance company.

Finally, if a tree falls on your car, your insurer will most likely only pay for its removal if it was caused by fire, lightning, explosion, riot, aircraft, vehicles not owned by you, vandalism, or theft — not a storm. Cars are typically excluded from homeowner policies, so a car would be treated as "empty space" if a tree fell on it.

How much does insurance pay toward tree removal?

The amount your insurer will spend on tree removal is usually limited to 5% of your total dwelling coverage. So, if you have $250,000 in coverage, you are entitled to $12,500 in debris/tree removal.

However, there is a catch: insurers will not spend more than $500 per tree. So, if four trees fell on your lawn, the insurer will only pay a total of $2,000 — $500 for each tree. According to TreeRemoval.com, the average cost of removing a fallen tree is $75 to $150, so the coverage should be adequate. Damage to your home would be covered to the full extent of your policy.

We recommend that you check your individual policy. While the $500 cap is common, your policy may cover up to $1,000 — or even less.

Should you file a claim?

Another thing to consider is your deductible. With typical homeowners deductibles ranging from $750 to $1,000, filing a claim to remove a single tree that did not cause any damage to your home makes no sense. Because it only costs $75 to $150 to remove a fallen tree from a yard, filing a claim for tree removal is unlikely to be cost-effective unless the tree caused damage to your home and is part of a larger and more expensive claim.

How your insurance company can help repair damage to your home

If a falling tree has damaged your home, your insurance company may offer a service to connect you with a qualified contractor. The services include warranties and free estimates, which you would not receive if you did not use a contractor in the insurance company's network. We have compiled a list of insurance companies that offer the best home repair assistance services.

Farmers Insurance

Farmers' Guaranteed Repair Program connects you with a reputable contractor, but the best part is that all work is covered by a five-year warranty. Furthermore, because the contractor you choose works directly with Farmers, the claim will most likely be resolved faster than it would have been otherwise. Furthermore, the contractor will not be paid in full until the work is completed to your specifications.

Amica

You can choose from over 2,000 prescreened contractors through Amica's Home Repair Assistance Program. Contractors, like Farmers, work directly with the insurance company to submit a repair estimate. The best feature is that a contractor can be on the scene within a few hours, which is extremely helpful if you have a leaking roof.

How to prevent trees from falling in the first place

A strong, healthy tree is much more difficult to knock down in a storm. Most likely, an older, unhealthy tree will be pushed over. It is critical to remove any trees that appear unhealthy because your insurance company may refuse to pay for the damage they caused. Even if you have coverage for a tree falling down, the insurer may argue that if you had not neglected the tree and had removed it beforehand, it would not have fallen down and damaged the house in the first place.

When it comes to your trees, there are several things to keep an eye out for. While only a professional will be able to officially diagnose a deficient tree, you can spot some early warning signs. Trees that are significantly hunched over, for example, are likely unhealthy and may fall over. Most trees lean naturally, but pay attention to trees that appear to lean significantly more than neighboring trees. In addition, unhealthy trees may have exposed roots on one side of the tree. Trees with multiple split trunks can also deteriorate with age.