My Tree Fell on My Neighbor’s House or Fence
- Victor Jimenez
- May 7, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Feb 4
Homeowner’s Name: Nancy
Neighbor’s Name: John
Who's Home Insurance Pays for damages?
We all know the weather in Georgia can change every 30 minutes! We can wake up to a sunny day, and within a couple of hours it could potentially turn into a windy, stormy day. We live in Douglasville and our home has at least 9 trees that give us the heebie-jeebies during every storm.
When winds pick up in Georgia, it can be dangerous. Trees are swinging left and right, branches are falling landing on cars and blocking roads. So, if a tree that is on your property falls and causes damage to your neighbor’s property WHO PAYS FOR THE DAMAGES? To make matters worse the tree fell on that not so friendly neighbor’s home! Why could not it have fallen on the friendly neighbor’s property!! Things may get awkward but hopefully this article can help guide yall in the situation.
It does not matter if your home is insured with Travelers, Nationwide or SafeCo the answer to this question is pretty straight forward.
The cost of repairs will fall on the Homeowner that owns the home that suffered the damage. So if Nancy’s tree fell on John’s home, then John is responsible for the fixing his own home, it does not matter if it was Nancy’s tree. Simple because Nancy does not control the weather in Douglasville, she did not force the wind to knock the healthy tree over.
Here’s where the “but” comes in.If Nancy’s tree was dead, rotted, or clearly leaning, and she ignored it, then things could change. That situation might be considered negligence, and Nancy could be held responsible for the damages.
In that case, Nancy’s liability coverage under her Georgia homeowners policy could step in to help cover the neighbor’s repairs.
🏡 Healthy Tree vs. Neglected Tree
Healthy tree blown down by wind: Each homeowner handles their own property damage through their own insurance (after the deductible).
Neglected or rotted tree: The property owner with the unsafe tree may be responsible, and their liability coverage could apply.
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