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Northern Chesapeake Insurance Services Blog

All You Ever Wanted to Know About Insurance

Who is responsible if my neighbor’s tree falls onto my house?

Neighbors are great! You can count on them to keep an eye on your place while you’re away, let out a furry friend or even borrow some last minute ingredients! Shoot, some of your neighbors are probably some of your closest friends. But having neighbors can sometimes cause some uncomfortable exchanges.

With winter here and spring on the way, often high winds occur when the cold air and warmer air mix together. This, mixed with sometimes wet soil can bring a vulnerable tree toppling down. So, what happens when YOUR tree drops down onto your neighbor’s house, car, fence or other property? Who is liable for that and which insurance company should you call?

Well, the answer is most of the time quite simple. Whoever owns the damaged property is responsible to get the damage repaired – not the owner of the tree.

Let’s look at some specific examples:

Your tree falls onto your neighbor’s house: Neighbor responsible to mitigate damages and call their own insurance company.

Your neighbor’s tree falls on your car: You should call your insurance company.

Now, proving any sort of negligence on the part of the tree owner is exceedingly rare. Trees die but can remain strong and standing for many years. If you or your neighbor has a tree that has died and you’re worried about it, you should call out an arborist. If the tree is the neighbors, have a conversation about the risks it poses and potential harm it could cause if it fell. Perhaps this will remedy the problem.

If you have other questions about insurance, call the insurance agents at Northern Chesapeake Insurance Services. Northern Chesapeake Insurance Services is comprised of a group of passionate insurance professionals working not only to save you money on your insurance, but to provide you with the best coverage and service available. From their Bel Air Maryland insurance agency, they work with many of the nation’s best insurance companies. Northern Chesapeake Insurance Services insures all types of cars, homes and businesses throughout Maryland. They can even insure your investment property, write your motorcycle insurance and more. Visit them online 24/7 at http://ncins.com or call (410) 420-3080.