What Happens if a Tree Falls on My Property During a Storm?

This is a tricky topic that we have encountered on many occasions in the past 20 years.

It is important to have building and contents insurance on your family home or investment property. However, it pays to read the fine-print on your policy to make sure you are not surprised if your home or property is damaged by a falling tree.

In the unfortunate event of a tree falling on your property, in most cases, your insurance company will only pay for removal of tree debris that has fallen on YOUR property. If the tree has also fallen on to your neighbour’s property, or on multiple properties, your policy generally does not cover removal of any debris on another property.

It may be your tree which falls across one or more fences, but if your neighbours are affected, they will need to put in a claim on their own insurance policy. Each property is handled separately by the property owner’s insurer and they will need to pay their own excess.

Also

In most cases, if a tree falls but does not damage any property, your insurance company will not pay to have the tree debris removed.

What should I do if a tree has fallen and damaged my property?

Contact your insurer to lodge a claim. Once your claim has been lodged, an insurance builder will be appointed to manage the repairs and will nominate a tree contractor to attend. You may not be able to choose the contractor, but your insurer only sends approved contractors to these jobs.

Bob and Ben the Tree Men works with a number of insurance builders and have done so for many years. We aim to respond to any emergency tree removal requests within a few hours and will contact you to discuss the job as soon as we can. In severe storms, such as occurred this week in Sydney, we prioritise the work according to danger levels and complete within the shortest amount of time possible.