What To Do If A Tree Damages Your Property
A tree falling onto your property is no fun. In fact, it can sometimes be downright scary. We understand. That’s why we’ve put together a helpful list of tips for dealing with a fallen tree.
Make Safety Your First Priority After a Fallen Tree
- If someone is injured, contact emergency services.
- If there are any damaged power lines or electrical hazards, contact the local power company as soon as possible.
- If you smell gas, evacuate your home immediately. Once you’re a safe distance from your home, contact your local gas company to inspect for a possible leak.
What should you do after a fallen tree damages your property?
- Contact us to begin your claim when it’s safe to do so. You can reach us at any time by dialing 1-866-848-9744. Learn more about beginning a claim by visiting our Claims page online.
- Get a trusted contractor to check your home for damages, inspect for safety and identify potential repairs. We recommend this is done when there is no obvious major damage to the dwelling or other property structures.
- Remove any remaining portions of the damaged tree and cut down any trees (or portions of trees) that are unsafe. You or the service you hire to remove the tree may be required to have a permit, so it’s best to ensure that’s in order before getting started.
- Protect yourself and the people around you by securing or removing any property that is loose.
- Protect your home and the valuables within from bad weather by putting a tarp or cover over broken windows or other exposed parts of the home.
- Secure any broken fencing caused on your property to limit your vulnerability to intruders.
- For peace of mind, we recommend taking pictures of the damaged area (only if it's safe to do so), so you have visual aids handy if you need them as part of your insurance claim.
How To Prevent Future Issues
Having a tree topple onto your property may seem like a random event, but here are some things you can do to reduce the risk of this happening to you:
- Take care of your trees. For big jobs, consider hiring an arborist to help with any challenging upkeep.
- Look out for warning signs. Little things like a leaning trunk, cracks at the base of the tree or broken limbs resting on healthy limbs could signal future danger.
- Get advice from an arborist on the health of a potentially dying or dangerous tree.
- Talk to the neighbours if you’re concerned about the state of their trees. If the neighbour refuses to address the issue, send follow-up communication in writing and keep copies if they need to be referenced later.
Have questions? We’re here to help. For general questions, you can reach us at 1-877-777-7136, Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For claims support, dial 1-866-848-9744 to get in contact with our 24/7 support line.