Who’s Responsible if a Tree Falls on My House or Car?

A Frequent Question

With storm season coming up, we get asked this question quite often: “My neighbor’s tree fell on my house/car and caused damage. Is their homeowner’s insurance responsible for fixing my property?” The answer is no.

Who Takes Responsibility?

Most of the time when a tree falls during a storm and lands on a house or car, it is your responsibility to go ahead and fix that property because it’s an Act of God.

The only time your neighbor’s insurance might be responsible is if the tree was dead and your neighbor failed to remove it. If the tree had dead limbs or was obviously not doing well, and the neighbor was negligent by not removing the tree, they might be responsible in that case for your damages.

Most of the time though, if a heavy storm comes through and a big limb falls off the tree, that is your responsibility.