6 min read
Print the one-page version and keep it where you can find it in the dark.
1. Get everyone away from it, including yourself
A tree that has already fallen is not finished moving. Limbs under tension release when something shifts. A trunk resting on a roof can drop further as the structure gives. Get people out of the rooms under it, and stay out from under the canopy.
2. Assume every wire is live
If the tree is touching a power line, or if there is any wire down anywhere near it, stop. Do not approach, do not move branches, do not let anyone try. Electricity travels through wet wood and wet ground, and a downed line can energise a fence or a puddle metres away.
Call the utility first. Not a tree company, not your insurer. The line has to be made safe before anybody can work, and no legitimate crew will touch it before that either.
3. Shut off what needs shutting off
If the structure is damaged and you can do it safely from a dry position, kill the power at the breaker. If you smell gas, leave the building and call the gas company from outside.
4. Photograph everything before anything moves
This is the step people skip and regret. Before any cleanup:
- Wide shots showing the whole tree and the whole structure
- Close-ups of every point of damage
- The root plate and the base, which shows whether it uprooted or snapped
- Anything inside that got wet or broken
- A shot showing the date, or check your phone keeps the timestamps
Adjusters settle faster on documented claims. Once the tree is cut up and hauled away, the evidence is gone.
5. Stop the damage getting worse
Most policies require you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage, and most will reimburse what that costs. Tarping an open roof, boarding a broken window, moving furniture out of a wet room. Keep every receipt.
Reasonable steps do not mean climbing onto a damaged roof in the rain.
6. Call your insurer, then call a crew
Open the claim before the cleanup, so the adjuster hears about it from you and in sequence.
What insurance usually covers
General patterns, not a promise about your policy:
- Tree on a structure: usually covered. The damage to the building, and typically the removal of the tree off the structure.
- Tree down in the yard, hit nothing: often not covered, or capped at a small amount. Insurers cover damage to property, and a tree lying on your lawn has not damaged much.
- Your neighbour's tree on your house: normally your own policy, which surprises people. Fault only enters if the owner knew the tree was hazardous and did nothing. A dated written warning is what establishes that.
- A tree that was already dead: a claim is much harder. Insurers cover sudden accidental events, not neglected maintenance.
Read your own declarations page, and ask your agent directly about debris-removal limits, because that is where the surprises live.
Choosing a crew when you are under pressure
Storms bring people into town who are not from here. Before you sign:
- Ask for the certificate of insurance and check the dates on it yourself
- Be careful with large cash deposits up front from a company you cannot look up
- Get the price in writing before work starts, including whether haul-off is in it
- Look them up. A company with a long local review history is a company that will still be here if something goes wrong