A Tree Hit Your House. Here’s How the Insurance Actually Works.
What’s covered, what isn’t, the sublimits nobody reads about, and the documentation that makes claims go smoothly.
The basic coverage logic
Homeowners insurance covers tree damage when a tree hits a covered structure: the house, an attached garage, a fence, a shed. The structure repair is the main claim, handled like any other covered damage, minus your deductible. The tree removal itself rides along with a catch: most policies cap tree-and-debris removal somewhere around $500 to $1,000 per event, which on a big fir may not cover the whole job. Worth knowing before the adjuster call, not after.
And the scenario that surprises everyone: a tree that falls harmlessly in the yard: no structure hit, driveway clear — is typically not covered at all. Insurance pays for damage, not for gravity.
Whose insurance, when it’s whose tree
Neighbor’s healthy tree falls on your house in a storm? Counterintuitively, your policy pays. Storms are acts of nature, and fault doesn’t attach to healthy trees. The neighbor’s liability enters only with negligence: a tree they knew was dead or dangerous, ideally provably knew. When that’s the case, your insurer may pay you first and pursue theirs, but your documentation is what makes that possible. (The full ownership-and-liability picture is in our neighbor tree law guide.)
What to do in the first 24 hours
Keep everyone away from the tree, including rooms directly under it, since more can move. If lines are involved, the utility comes before anyone. Photograph everything from safe angles: the tree, the damage, the failure point at the trunk or roots. Call your insurer to open the claim, and call us — emergency response is 24-hour, and we photograph and document as part of the work, because we know exactly what adjusters ask for.
What NOT to do: don’t start cutting (tensioned storm wood injures homeowners every year), and don’t authorize a full cleanup before damage is documented. Stabilize, document, then clear.
Making the claim go smoothly
Adjusters respond to clear paper: dated photos, an itemized invoice separating structure-protecting work from general cleanup, and a professional’s note on why the tree failed. We provide all three. Claims wobble when the file is thin: a pile of chips and a verbal story is a weak exhibit.
One honest note: if the tree that fell was visibly dead and had been for years, expect scrutiny — insurers can deny for owner neglect. That’s the strongest practical argument for dealing with known hazard trees before the storm does it for you, on worse terms.
Frequently asked questions
Storm damage right now? 24-hour line: (253) 328-2850.
No-pressure advice, sometimes the honest answer is “your tree is fine.”