Neighbor's complaint on storm damage

[Lucio Palanca]

Hello everyone, I am really a newbie at this and currently have one SFR and am syndicated with a partner with other properties in Indiana. We recently had a violent storm hitting our area and I received a call from my property manager regarding a complaint from my neighbor. He claims that a portion of a branch landed on his roof causing it to leak. The tree in question is a very large tree that I have trimmed sometime last year. It is a living and thriving tree that has been around for quite some time. I asked my insurance company to see if they covered such damage and he told me that this was not something that I was responsible for as it was an act of God. He even added that this is a well known fact among insurance companies and suggested that my neighbor contact his own insurance company. Does anyone have any experience on this? Hoping for some good advice

lg

[Adam Martin]

That’s how it works in my area and as long as the tree was not a known risk your responsibility stops at your property line.  It goes as far as if the tree fell down and landed between 2 yards you only have to clear up to your line and they are responsible for the rest.  I’m sure they have insurance and this is one of the reasons why.  That said though I’d probably have it cut down so if anything happens in the future they can’t use this as a reason to file since you know the tree is weak now.