With climate change worsening extreme weather, you could be concerned about how to foot the bill for removing a tree that has fallen on your residential land. Can tree removal from the Bay of Plenty be covered by insurance? The answer isn’t entirely straightforward…
Do You Have a Home Insurance Policy?
If so, it’s worth looking at the small print to check exactly what parts of the home the policy covers. In many instances, a home insurance policy can foot the bill for repairs to various residential structures, including buildings and fences.
These insured fixtures could be damaged by falling trees, as could any cars you leave parked on your driveway (and that are also covered by the home insurance policy in question). If the damage isn’t your fault, the insurance might be able to fund any repairs required.
Could Your Home Insurance Pay for the Tree’s Removal?
This is where things become unclear. Unfortunately, as a general rule, no, you can’t dip into a home insurance policy to meet the cost of a tree’s removal.
However, what if your home insurer does agree to cover the cost of repairing tree-inflicted damage to items specifically listed as ‘insured’ in the documentation for your home insurance policy?
In this case, the covered cost could include removing any parts of the tree that need to be removed to allow for safe repairs. So, even when a home insurance policy doesn’t publicly claim to cover tree removal, it could potentially still do so (at least to some extent) in practice.
How to Arrange the Fallen Tree’s Removal
Depending on such factors as the tree’s size and exactly how much damage the tree has caused, you might not be able to tell with any confidence whether your home insurer would be willing to pay for the tree’s entire removal. You could find that you have to pay for this job out of your pocket.
All in all, then, can tree removal be covered by insurance? Not necessarily. So, the onus could be on you to reach out to an arborist capable of removing the tree professionally and safely. To learn how we tick these important boxes, please call 027 628 8762.