What Should I Do if a Tree Falls on My Car?

After a tree falls on your car, you should assess whether the damage is covered by your car insurance policy and, if so, reach out to your insurance carrier to file a claim. Your auto insurance should provide coverage if a tree falls on your car as long as you have added comprehensive coverage to the policy but you won’t be covered if you have a basic policy that only includes liability coverage.

Read below to learn more about how car insurance covers tree damage and what steps you should take if you need to file a claim with your auto insurance company.

On This Page

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  Will My Insurance Cover Me if a Tree Falls on My Car?

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  What Type of Car Insurance Covers Tree Damage?

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  What Should I Do if a Tree Falls on My Car?

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  How To File a Car Insurance Claim for Tree Damage

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  FAQs

Will My Insurance Cover Me if a Tree Falls on My Car?

Whether your car insurance company will cover tree damage to your vehicle depends on the types of car insurance included in your policy. In general, a full coverage car insurance policy should provide coverage if an entire tree falls on and crushes your car or if your vehicle incurs minor damage due to a falling tree limb or branch.

Is a Tree Falling on a Car Considered an Accident?

A tree falling on your car may be unavoidable and therefore may be treated differently by your insurer than damage from a car accident that you are responsible for. While filing a claim for any reason can cause your car insurance premium to go up, you are likely to face a sharper rate increase if you get into an at-fault accident than if your car experiences tree damage you couldn’t have prevented.

However, if the fallen tree was old and decaying or the tree damage can otherwise be attributed to poor maintenance or negligence on your part, then your auto insurance company may treat the claim similarly to an at-fault car accident claim.

When Doesn’t Car Insurance Cover Fallen Trees?

Your car insurance policy won’t cover fallen trees if it only includes the minimum insurance coverage types required by law in your state. In addition, tree damage won’t be covered if the cost of repairs is less than your deductible, which is the amount of money you must pay out of pocket toward every claim before your coverage takes effect.

For example, it costs $100 to $400 to replace a car window on average.^[1] As a result, if you have a $500 deductible, you will likely have to cover the full cost of repairs out of pocket after the wind blows a tree branch through and shatters a single window.

What Type of Car Insurance Covers Tree Damage?

Tree damage is predominantly covered by comprehensive car insurance but other coverage types could come into play depending on the circumstances.

Comprehensive Car Insurance

Comprehensive coverage is a type of auto insurance that covers damage to your vehicle from sudden and unexpected perils. It covers most non-collision sources of damage including the following:

Comprehensive insurance isn’t required by law in any state but it is often required by lenders and lessors. If you purchase comprehensive coverage and your car is damaged by a falling tree, your insurer will cover the cost of repairs minus your deductible unless it would cost more than the car is worth to fix it. In this case, your insurer will simply pay you the actual cash value (ACV) of your vehicle minus your deductible.

Additional Insurance Policies To Consider

You may need collision insurance to cover vehicle repairs after you drive into a tree that has already fallen into the road. In general, collision insurance may pay to repair or replace your vehicle whenever you drive into another car or object. Like comprehensive coverage, collision coverage isn’t required by law but is typically required by lenders and lessors.

Other coverage types that can come in handy if your vehicle is damaged by a tree include rental car reimbursement coverage and new car replacement insurance.^[2] Rental car reimbursement coverage can help you pay for a rental car while you wait for your vehicle to be replaced or repaired. Meanwhile, new car replacement insurance can cover the costs of replacing your vehicle after a total loss rather than simply paying out the totaled car’s ACV.

What Should I Do if a Tree Falls on My Car?

When a tree falls on your car, you should evaluate the source of the damage and determine if it was an unavoidable accident or if someone else can be held responsible. Although you’ll usually file a claim on your own comprehensive insurance when your car experiences tree damage, it’s possible you could file a claim on your neighbor’s homeowners insurance instead if the tree fell from their property and you can prove that their negligence contributed to the damage.^[2]

How To File a Car Insurance Claim for Tree Damage

If your car has incurred tree damage that is covered by your auto insurance policy, you should take the following steps to file a car insurance claim:

1. Call the police and have the responding officers complete a police report if the damage can be linked to a crime such as a vandal maliciously cutting down a tree.
2. Take pictures or videos of your damaged vehicle and the area surrounding the fallen tree.
3. Submit relevant evidence to your insurance carrier such as police reports, pictures and videos.
4. Take note of your coverage limit and deductible so you can get a good idea of how much your insurance payout could be and whether you should continue the claims process at all.
5. Contact a repair shop to get an estimate of how much it will cost to fix your car.
6. Use the settlement from your insurance company to complete repairs on your vehicle.