Tree Fell on Your Property in a Storm? Do This

Get everyone away from the tree and any damaged structure first, then call your insurance company before you move or cut anything. Your policy likely covers removal when the tree hit a covered structure, and photos taken before cleanup are what support that claim. The rest of this page walks through the order that keeps you safe and keeps the claim intact.

• Move people and pets out of the drop zone, including anything under a leaning trunk or a limb still hung up in another tree.
• Call your insurer and open a claim before you cut or haul anything.
• Photograph and video the tree, the damage, and the surrounding area from several angles.
• Do not touch a tree that is resting on a power line, a fence, or a structure until the utility or a qualified crew has made it safe.
• Keep receipts for anything you pay for, including emergency work, because reimbursement depends on your policy.

A fallen tree is still under load, and a trunk that looks settled can shift or roll when it is cut. That is the single biggest reason a property owner should not start cutting the moment the storm passes. A tree lying across a driveway with its root plate lifted out of the ground is the most unstable of all: the root ball is a counterweight, and cutting the trunk can let it snap back upright or roll sideways.

Walk the property from a distance and look for these conditions before you go near anything.

• A trunk resting on a roof, a car, or a fence, where the structure is holding part of the weight.
• A tree or large limb hung up in the canopy of a standing tree, sometimes called a widowmaker. It can drop without warning.
• A root plate standing vertical or tilted, with soil cracked around it.
• Any part of the tree touching or near a power line, including a line that is down and lying in grass.
• A split trunk or a crack running along the length of the wood.
• A tree leaning over a house, a shed, or a path people use.

If any of those are present, stay back and treat the area as off limits until the tree is made safe. If a line is involved, call the utility and keep everyone, including pets, well clear of the wire and anything it touches. A downed line can energize a fence, a metal roof, or wet ground.

Open the claim first, because the adjuster's instructions decide what you are allowed to move and what needs to stay put for inspection. Most homeowners policies treat a tree that falls because of wind, ice, or another storm event as a covered peril when it lands on a covered structure, such as your house, a garage, or a fence. When a tree falls in the open yard and hits nothing, many policies cover only a limited amount of removal, or none at all, and that limit is usually a dollar figure written into the policy.

This is why the call comes before the chainsaw. Ask the adjuster three things:

1. Does my policy cover removal of the tree itself, or only the damage it caused to the structure?
2. Is there a cap on tree removal, and does debris hauling count against it?
3. Do you want the tree left in place for an inspection, or can I have it removed now and submit the invoice?

Write down the claim number and the name of the person you speak with. If the tree is blocking access to your home, or a hole in the roof is letting rain in, say so on that call. Many policies have language about protecting the property from further damage, which can allow you to arrange work and submit the cost. Get that permission from the adjuster rather than assuming it.

Photograph the scene from multiple angles before any cutting or hauling begins, because the claim is built on what the damage looked like at its worst. Walk the perimeter and shoot wide shots that show the whole tree and the structure together, then close shots of the point of impact, any cracked siding or shingles, and the stump or root plate. Video helps too, especially if you narrate what you are seeing.

Also photograph things that are easy to forget: the fence line, a crushed shrub bed, a cracked driveway, a dented gutter, water stains inside where rain came through. Note the date and time. If a neighbor's tree fell onto your property, photograph the stump so the origin is clear, and let your insurer sort out who pays. That question is between the two policies, not between you and the neighbor.

Keep every receipt. If you pay for a hotel, a tarp, a generator, or emergency work, those costs may fall under your policy's additional living expense or property protection coverage. Receipts are the only proof that survives the cleanup.

Removal of a storm-fallen tree is a different job from routine pruning, and the work is priced by the conditions, not by a flat rate. A tree that fell cleanly into an open lawn is the simplest case: the crew cuts it into sections, chips the brush, and hauls the wood. A tree that is resting on a roof, wedged between two other trees, or leaning against a fence is slower, because every cut changes the load and the crew has to rig the pieces down instead of letting them fall.

What drives the price and the time:

• Whether the tree is under tension or compression, which decides how it has to be sectioned.
• Whether it is resting on a structure, which means controlled lowering rather than dropping.
• Access. A tree in a back yard behind a gate, over a septic field, or between a house and a pool takes more handling than one beside the road.
• Size and species. A large hardwood trunk weighs far more per foot than a small ornamental, and the wood has to be moved somewhere.
• Debris. Chipping the brush and hauling the logs is a separate line of work from cutting them down.
• Stump. Grinding the stump below grade is usually a separate step from removing the trunk, and it is worth asking about it up front.

None of that can be priced over the phone with any accuracy. The number depends on what the tree is touching, how it is loaded, and what equipment can reach it. That is why the estimate has to happen on site, with the tree still in place, so the person quoting can see the lean, the tension, and the access. If someone offers a firm price without looking, ask what it covers and whether the stump and the hauling are included.

Have your address, a description of what the tree is resting on, and your claim number ready, and be clear about whether the tree is touching a power line. Those three details decide how the job is approached. If the tree is on a line, the utility has to make it safe before any cutting starts, and that step comes first no matter who you call.

A few questions worth asking on that call, whether it is to us or to anyone else handling the work:

• Is the tree under tension, and how will the pieces be lowered?
• Is the stump grinding included, or is that separate?
• Is the debris hauled away, or left on site?
• What does the quote cover, and what would change it?
• Will you document the work with photos for my insurance claim?

If you are in Knoxville, you can reach us to look at the tree and give you an on-site assessment. Have your photos and claim number handy, and do not move anything that is resting on a structure until someone has looked at it.