Your Home Insurance and a Fallen Tree

This is the sight that greeted me a couple of weeks ago as I was getting ready to head out to do some grocery shopping. One of our Mulberry trees decided to give it up - its roots just could not hold in the soil on the edge of the ravine.

We take a few calls every year about how fallen trees are or are not covered by a homeowner's insurance policy. 

What is your best guess in this situation?? Would my insurance cover having this tree removed?

Looking out my front door!!!

The GENERAL rule is that the tree has to have caused some damage to a covered structure for the homeowners policy to kick in.  NOPE - no structure damage, it didn't even pull down the power line; in fact we didn't even hear it fall!! Remember the flat line winds last year - took out the top of one of our biggest trees and numerous limbs on it's neighbor on its way down. It made a big mess and  took us all day to clean it up and since (THANKFULLY) it did not damage our house, there was no coverage from our home insurance. So yes, even insurance people have with the same policy coverage!

HOWEVER:

It is blocking access to our home - even our Yaris wouldn't fit under it!! So yes, I could have called in a tree surgeon, had them cut it up, paid my deductible and called my insurance company on Monday.  

Instead - we borrowed our neighbor's chainsaw and spent a few hours cleaning it up ourselves. Mind you,  I am NOT promoting an inexperienced person run out and beg, borrow or buy a chainsaw and begin cutting away on a fallen tree - my husband has been cutting trees for a lot of years and has a lot of respect for the odd twists and pops a branch can take.