{"id":1284,"date":"2016-05-26T17:25:18","date_gmt":"2016-05-26T17:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/?p=1284"},"modified":"2023-09-21T22:59:56","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T22:59:56","slug":"tree-squashed-neighbors-car-who-pays-tab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/homeowners-insurance\/understanding-homeowners-insurance\/tree-squashed-neighbors-car-who-pays-tab\/","title":{"rendered":"My Tree Just Squashed My Neighbor\u2019s Car \u2013 Who Pays the Tab?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Combine heavy rainfall followed by high winds \u2013 or both at the same time \u2013 and, you\u2019ve got the perfect ingredients for toppled trees. What\u2019s worse is if one of those trees is on your property and it squashes your neighbor\u2019s new Lexus. Now comes the big question: Who\u2019s going to pay the tab \u2013 your homeowners insurance<\/a> or his auto insurance<\/a>?<\/p>\n

If a tree falls in a forest\u2026<\/h2>\n

The old adage, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?\u201d will certainly not apply here. That\u2019s because \u2013 even though no one may have heard your tree come crashing down and turn the neighbor\u2019s car into a two-ton metal pancake, you\u2019re bound to be hearing about \u201cthe tree\u201d for many months, if not, years to come.<\/p>\n

Depending on your neighbor\u2019s temperament, the insurance companies involved, and the health or condition of your tree before its uprooting, several outcomes could result.<\/p>\n

Not responsible for Act of God<\/h2>\n

For example, if the tree was healthy, it’s considered an Act of God, and you’re not responsible. What will generally happen is your neighbor\u2019s auto insurance will kick in and cover the damage to his car under the comprehensive insurance<\/a> portion of his policy \u2013 minus his deductible, of course. In such a situation, you may want to offer to pay his deductible to show good faith and mend fences, so to speak.<\/p>\n

Deliberate neglect could make you liable<\/h2>\n

However, if your tree lands on your neighbor\u2019s car due to your own neglect and it can be proven that you ignored requests from the city or from neighbors to remove apparently dead, diseased or rotting trees, there\u2019s a good chance you\u2019ll be found liable for the damages, according to the Insurance Information Institute<\/a>. This will typically involve your neighbor\u2019s auto insurance company<\/a> seeking recovery of the money from your homeowners insurance company.<\/p>\n

In addition, you may be held liable for damages in the event construction or remodeling being performed on your house or property causes the tree to fall and crush your neighbor\u2019s car. After all, stranger things have happened and your new kitchen extension or sparkling pool could lose their luster in a big hurry, if it costs your neighbor his car.<\/p>\n

Check your trees periodically<\/h2>\n

Though you normally don\u2019t give them much thought, it\u2019s always a good idea to check the trees on your property periodically for exposed roots, disease, or damage from bark beetles and other parasites. Reviewing your homeowners policy ahead of time to know what\u2019s covered and to make sure you have adequate protection can also keep you from any unexpected surprises.<\/p>\n

A little preventive yard maintenance can go a long way \u2013 by keeping the peace as well as giving you peace of mind.<\/p>\n

Freeway Insurance has over 30 years of experience providing customers with high quality insurance at low rates. If you need to speak with an experienced agent about homeowners insurance, call (800) 777-5620<\/strong> to get all of your questions answered. Freeway provides free, no-obligations quotes 24\/7. Call today to get started.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Combine heavy rainfall followed by high winds \u2013 or both at the same time \u2013 and, you\u2019ve got the perfect ingredients for toppled trees. What\u2019s worse is if one of those trees is on your property and it squashes your neighbor\u2019s new Lexus. Now comes the big question: Who\u2019s going to pay the tab \u2013 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[104],"importance":[],"type-content":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1284"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9565,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284\/revisions\/9565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1284"},{"taxonomy":"importance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/importance?post=1284"},{"taxonomy":"type-content","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type-content?post=1284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}