Falling trees don’t care what is below them. They land where they fall. If it is on your rental home, then a lot of costly damage could result. The question is, who pays if a tree falls on a rental property?
Rental properties contain assets belonging to both the landlord and the tenant. Therefore, damage to the home will likely call both parties’ insurance policies into consideration. Your renters insurance might pay for certain damage, while the landlord’s will pay for other losses. Furthermore, in some cases, the damage might even involve a third party’s insurance.
Damage from Unexpected Losses
Most people cannot anticipate when a tree will fall onto a rental property. However, when it does, it could create damage to both the home’s structure and the possessions inside. It could also harm people inside the home.
So, if a storm causes a tree to fall, the renter’s and landlord’s insurance policies might apply to different damage costs that arise.
- The renter does not own the home’s structure. Therefore, it is the landlord’s property structure insurance that will pay for the home’s repairs.
- Possessions personally-owned by the renter, in or around the home, will have coverage under the renter’s possessions insurance. This coverage might pay to repair damaged items from furniture to clothing and more. If the renter wants to insure high-value items, like jewelry, then they might need scheduled items coverage to extend particular coverage to the damaged items.
- Someone not related to the renter, like a houseguest, might get hurt by the falling tree. Certain renters insurance policies provide a medical payments supplement. Regardless of if the renter had any negligence in the person’s injury, this coverage can help cover the injured party’s injury costs.
At times, the landlord’s property damage liability insurance might pay for damage to the tenant’s possessions. However, to use this coverage, the renter likely has to prove that the landlord was at-fault for the reason the tree fell. For example, if the landlord did not trim or cut a dead tree, and the tree subsequently falls, then the landlord might have to pay for the tenant’s personal damage.
A Tree Falls Onto Your Property from Another Property
Say that during a storm, a tree on a neighboring property falls onto the rental property. Who has to pay for the damage?
Since the act of nature was not the neighbor’s fault, then the landlord’s and renter’s own insurance will pay for the respective damage. However, if the neighbor knew that a tree was a fall-risk, then it might be their own liability insurance that will pay for the property damage of both landlord and tenant.
Following any fallen tree on your rental property, immediately notify the landlord and call your renters insurance company. An investigation will likely result, and the insurers can determine whose policies must pay for what damage.
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