What Should You Do When a Tree Falls on Your Car?
When a tree falls on your car, stay clear of any downed power lines, photograph the damage from every angle, and call your auto insurer, because the car claim usually runs through your auto policy rather than your homeowners policy. The Insurance Information Institute says comprehensive coverage protects against damage from incidents other than a collision, including falling rocks or trees, and Progressive explains that comprehensive covers a fallen tree, branch or limb minus your deductible. Progressive also notes that homeowners insurance does not cover damage to your car.
That coverage is not automatic in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department lists the state's required minimum coverages as $5,000 in medical benefits, $15,000/$30,000 in bodily injury liability and $5,000 in property damage liability, and comprehensive is not among them. A car carrying only the state minimum may have no coverage for a falling tree at all. This post covers the first steps after a tree hits your car, which policy pays, what changes when the tree was your neighbor's, and how to get the tree off the car safely.
What Should You Do in the First Hour?
Safety comes before paperwork. Work through these steps in order:
Look up and around. If the tree or any branch is touching a power line, stay far away and call the utility or 911. Assume every line is live.
Check the rest of the tree. Broken limbs still hanging in the crown can fall later. Keep people and pets out from under it.
Take photos. Progressive recommends photographing the damage from every angle before anything is moved. Get the car, the tree, the stump or broken point, and the surrounding area.
Call your auto insurer. Start the claim and ask whether they want an adjuster to see the car before the tree is removed.
Call a tree crew. A tree resting on a car can shift as it is cut, so leave the cutting to a crew.
Our guide to what counts as a tree emergency and who to call covers the situations that should not wait until morning.
Which Insurance Pays: Auto or Homeowners?
Often both are involved, for different things. Progressive explains that damage to your vehicle goes through your auto insurance, while damage to your home, such as a roof, is a homeowners claim, so a tree that hits both usually means two separate claims. Progressive adds that some bundled policies may waive one of the deductibles in that situation.
On the auto side, the coverage that responds is comprehensive. The Insurance Information Institute defines it as protection against damage from incidents other than a collision, such as theft, vandalism, fire, flood, hail, and falling rocks or trees. Progressive gives a simple example: a $3,000 repair with a $500 deductible means the insurer pays $2,500 and you pay the deductible.
Coverage details vary by policy, so your insurer is the one who can confirm what applies to your claim.
Does Your Pennsylvania Auto Policy Include Comprehensive?
Check before you need it. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department's list of required minimum coverages covers medical benefits, bodily injury liability and property damage liability, and none of those pay to repair your own car after a tree falls on it.
If your car is financed or leased, you probably have it. The Insurance Information Institute notes that if you lease or finance a vehicle, lenders and leasing companies will likely require collision and comprehensive. If you own your car outright, nobody is requiring it, so confirm whether it is on your policy.
A quick look at your declarations page, or a call to your agent, tells you whether you have comprehensive and what the deductible is.
What If It Was Your Neighbor's Tree?
Whose tree it was matters less than people expect. Progressive notes that unless you can prove negligence on your neighbor's part, you may still be responsible for your own repairs through your own coverage. Negligence may be established, Progressive explains, if the tree was clearly dead or rotting, or if a specialist had previously recommended removing it.
That lines up with how courts generally approach falling trees. Attorneys Michael Chapman and Tiffani Palmer of the law firm Weltman write that the traditional rule under the Restatement (Second) of Torts imposed generally no liability between private landowners for damage from natural conditions, but that courts now tend to hold owners accountable when they knew or should have known a tree was hazardous and failed to act.
How this plays out in a specific case depends on the facts and your policy. Your insurer may pursue the neighbor's insurer on your behalf, and an attorney can advise you on a dispute. Our post on when a neighbor's tree falls on your property in PA covers the property side of the same question.
How Do You Get the Tree Off the Car Safely?
Leave it to a crew with the right equipment. A trunk resting on a car can shift when a cut releases tension, and a chainsaw near glass and body panels risks more damage than the tree already caused.
A careful removal generally looks like this:
The crew assesses the tree, the remaining canopy and any line contact before cutting.
Weight is taken off the car in sections, with pieces lifted or lowered away rather than dropped.
Logs and brush are hauled away, and the stump can be ground later.
Once the car is clear, get the photos you need for the adjuster before the debris leaves the site. If your homeowners policy may cover part of the tree removal, whether homeowners insurance covers tree removal in PA explains how that side generally works.
How Can You Lower the Risk Next Time?
Look at the trees over your driveway and where you park. Dead trees, trees with large dead limbs, cracked trunks, and trees leaning toward the parking area are the ones to deal with first. Our guide to seven warning signs of a hazardous tree walks through what to check.
If a neighbor's tree looks dead or rotten and hangs over your parking area, a written notice creates a record. As Progressive and Weltman's attorneys both describe, what the owner knew about the tree's condition can matter if it later fails.
FAQ
Does homeowners insurance cover a tree falling on my car?
No, according to Progressive. Damage to the car goes through your auto policy's comprehensive coverage, while damage to your home is a separate homeowners claim.
Is comprehensive coverage required in Pennsylvania?
It is not on the Pennsylvania Insurance Department's list of required minimum coverages. Lenders and leasing companies will likely require it, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
Will a tree falling on my car raise my rates?
That depends on your insurer and your claim history. Ask your agent before filing if you are concerned.
Who pays if my neighbor's healthy tree fell in a storm?
Progressive notes that without proof of negligence, you may be responsible through your own coverage. Negligence may be established when a tree was clearly dead or rotting, or a specialist had recommended removal.
Should I move the car out from under the tree?
Not if the tree is resting on it or any lines are involved. Take photos, call your insurer, and let a tree crew remove the weight first.
What does comprehensive coverage include?
The Insurance Information Institute lists damage from theft, vandalism, fire, flood, hail, falling rocks or trees, striking an animal, and other hazards other than a collision.
Emergency Tree Removal From Brinko Tree Service
Brinko Tree Service, based at 1010 Sunset Blvd in Harrison City, offers 24/7 emergency tree removal across Westmoreland and Allegheny Counties, with nearly 20 years of experience. When a tree comes down on a vehicle, the team removes fallen trees and hazardous limbs, clears storm debris, and uses its grapple truck service to haul away logs and brush. Brinko is fully licensed and insured, follows OSHA and ANSI safety regulations with an OSHA safety site supervisor on every job site, and offers free estimates.
Visit Brinko Tree Service or call 412-373-7450 today. Contact us for more information.
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