High winds, tree down. Insurance?

My wife let out the dogs at 4 am and discovered we had lost 2 major branches from a tree out back. About 1/3 of the total tree.
I went out at 4am to assure there was not more immediate threat. I then went back to bed waiting for first light to sort it all out.

Some branches got onto the roof but no roof damage. There is some denting of the rain gutter and the gutter guards. The black all aluminum fence is about $800 and due to its design, the whole thing will have to come out to replace sections (if I can get replacements.) With what can be re-used, figure about $400 for fence.

The other half of the tree still stands and I feel that should be removed.
A major question here is if insurance will pay to remove the remaining and standing portion of the tree?
I think my homeowners policy has a $1k deductible. Is this a deductable situation? I have never made a homeowners claim in 18 years of owning 3 houses. I have been in this house just over 2 years.

Does alerting my insurance agent automatically initiate a claim? What I want to do is figure if there is enough issue to bother with a claim.

I have the branches pulled off to the side. I see no need to call a tree guy today, they all will be very busy with true storm damage and I see no need to pay high emergency rates to get them out right away.

In this situation the insurance company will consider this an "act of god" (assuming the tree was alive) and I'm pretty sure will need the deductible, but that should take care of everything.

I think what you pay for a deductible will cover most of what needs to be done anyway

I'd call a tree service and get a quote for removing the tree. My guess is you'll be well under 1k for what needs to be repaired.

DaveEstey wrote: I think what you pay for a deductible will cover most of what needs to be done anyway

So would I then be better off to not make a claim? Right now I have a perfect track record of never having a claim, wouldn't I be better off just having never bothered the insurance co?

Take care of it yourself. Use your deductible for when your whole roof needs repairs. (+/- 5K).

I had similar situation, but a neighbor's tree fell on my house and damaged my gutter, damaged my deck, and fence. My deductible was 1% of the value of my house (what I initially selected when I bought the house), $2,900.00. I just repaired the roof and the gutter for $800.00. Then changed my deductible to 1K.

I'm now sending all my neighbors a certified letter telling them that one of their trees MAY damage my property. If they fail to remove the tree, and a damage happens, THEIR insurance will have to cover. This was what my insurance recommended.

Good Luck!

In reply to JohnRW1621:

My policy has always been to avoid getting insurance involved whenever possible.

Several years ago, while living in Tampa, we had half of a very large tree fall. No wind, just internal rot. Wood came down on three lots, substantial damage to my neighbor's roof and garages. Fences destroyed. Insurance denied all claims. Owner had to refinance to get the 10K it cost to clean things up. Bad experience.

M3Loco wrote: Take care of it yourself. Use your deductible for when your whole roof needs repairs. (+/- 5K).

This sounds like good advice. Save the insurance claim for when you really need it.

And it's hard to tell, but if those limbs were dead already, you really should get them removed before they fall if they're close to the house.

Edit: You got any friends/neighbors with chain saws? Saturday, beer, chain saws. Sounds like a fun time!

cwh wrote: Several years ago, while living in Tampa, we had half of a very large tree fall. No wind, just internal rot. Wood came down on three lots, substantial damage to my neighbor's roof and garages. Fences destroyed. Insurance denied all claims. Owner had to refinance to get the 10K it cost to clean things up. Bad experience.

If a tree has dead limbs, it's a good sign it's dying.

In that case it becomes a property maintenance issue, not and insurance issue. That is why the claim was denied.

1988RedT2 wrote:

M3Loco wrote: Take care of it yourself. Use your deductible for when your whole roof needs repairs. (+/- 5K).

This sounds like good advice. Save the insurance claim for when you really need it. And it's hard to tell, but if those limbs were dead already, you really should get them removed before they fall if they're close to the house. Edit: You got any friends/neighbors with chain saws? Saturday, beer, chain saws. Sounds like a fun time!

Hell, if I was a neighbor it would already be stacked and split.

Thanks for the inputs.
Y'all reaffirmed my beliefs (ie: act of god, dead tree, not worth the insurance involvement, etc)
I just placed a listing up in the free section of my CL.
Cold weather is here. Someone needs cheap heat.

I will take a chance and see what freaks CL brings out!!

Personally, I have no fireplace.

Careful, if some freak comes and drops the tree on your house you'll be hosed.

In the present insurance climate, do not make a claim unless it is something you cannot handle yourself. Developing a claims history is not good and may get you marked for "non renewal" by your company. At best your rate will go up.

In reply to DaveEstey:

Agreed. I always figured I would be on-site to supervise (and help) the CL'ers. I just really wanted the free haul-away.

I also reached out to a few local contacts and I think I have a taker already but I will keep up the CL for now to increase my options and probability of success.

I've got a maple tree that died for reasons unknown this year. It's still standing, but needs to come down. I'll be interested to see if anyone take you up on your Craigslist offer. I'm thinking of doing the same with mine (far enough away from everything that if Bubba cuts it down, it can't cause damage).

JohnRW1621 wrote: In reply to DaveEstey: Agreed. I always figured I would be on-site to supervise (and help) the CL'ers. I just really wanted the free haul-away. I also reached out to a few local contacts and I think I have a taker already but I will keep up the CL for now to increase my options and probability of success.

Might be worth it to take it down yourself in that case, then have them haul it away. Tree that small wouldn't be too hard.

I have never heard of insurance proactively paying to remove a tree. Only paying to repair the damage incurred once the tree fell.

Ain't it a bitch? Pay for insurance, then when something does happen and you need it you are in a bad spot because to be so crass as to actually file a claim makes you high risk and then they drop you like a hot potato.

It's never happened to me, but I have heard tales of ins co's demanding that a tree be removed if they consider it to be a danger to the property. Of course many times they don't pay for this service... whatever. I keep mine trimmed and there is one near my garage which I will probably take down because I had to cut a roughly 15' long dead limb off of. What's left is vigorous etc but it still concerns me.

i have chainsaw and can always use firewood.

Downed by 10 am I left about 11:00 for an appt.
All was clean and they were gone when I returned in the afternoon.

I had reached out to some friends. I had forgotten, one friend's kid, 19 yrs old, spend about a year working on a tree crew. His friend wanted the wood. I supervised the avoidance of the house then left before the "bending to pick up branches" began. I sweetened the deal by dropping $100 on them. Everything was perfect when I returned. The kid also has access to a stumper so he will be returning with that.

z31maniac wrote:

cwh wrote: Several years ago, while living in Tampa, we had half of a very large tree fall. No wind, just internal rot. Wood came down on three lots, substantial damage to my neighbor's roof and garages. Fences destroyed. Insurance denied all claims. Owner had to refinance to get the 10K it cost to clean things up. Bad experience.

If a tree has dead limbs, it's a good sign it's dying. In that case it becomes a property maintenance issue, not and insurance issue. That is why the claim was denied.

I had a termite infested oak tree hit my house in South Carolina. Nationwide took care of it all. Sounds like a crappy insurance company. I try to stick to the ones with good customer service. Premiums are more but the insurance is actually useful when needed. USAA did similar as well after a tree hit my house in ct.

foxtrapper wrote: I have never heard of insurance proactively paying to remove a tree. Only paying to repair the damage incurred once the tree fell.

Agree