A tree fell on your house: what to do first

The first minutes

1. Check on people. Move everyone out of the rooms under and near the impact. A tree resting on a roof can shift.
2. Look for wires. If the tree has brought down or is touching power lines, stay well back, keep others away and call 911 and your electrical utility. Treat every wire as live.
3. Smell for gas. If the gas meter or line was hit, leave and call the gas utility from outside.
4. Do not go on the roof or under the tree.
5. Turn off power to the damaged area at the panel if it is safe to reach.

Who to call, in order

• 911 if there are injuries, fire, sparking or downed lines
• Your utilities, if services are affected
• Your insurer or broker, to open a claim
• A restoration company for emergency protection: tarping, board-up and water removal
• A tree service with the equipment to remove a tree from a structure

Removing a tree from a building is specialised work. The tree is under tension and its weight is partly carried by the damaged roof. It is cut and lifted in sections, often with a crane, so that it does not drop further into the house.

Document before anything is moved

From the ground and from inside, photograph and video:

• The tree and where it is resting
• The roof, walls, windows and eavestroughs
• Each damaged room, including ceilings and floors
• Damaged belongings
• The base of the tree, including the stump and roots

The condition of the tree matters. A healthy tree brought down by a storm and a dead tree that was known to be a hazard can be treated differently.

Stopping further damage

Once the tree is off, the opening is covered with a reinforced tarp and any broken windows are boarded. If the structure is weakened, temporary shoring goes in. Rain that came in is extracted and the wet ceiling, insulation and walls are dried.

Policies generally expect you to take reasonable steps like these to prevent more damage, and the cost is normally part of the claim. Keep the invoices.

Whose insurance pays

• Your tree, your house: your own home policy.
• Your neighbour’s tree, your house: in most cases still your own policy. Your insurer may pursue the neighbour’s insurer if the tree was known to be dangerous and nothing was done.
• Your tree, your neighbour’s house: usually their policy, on the same basis.

Windstorm is a commonly covered peril. Coverage normally includes the damage to the building, removing the tree from the structure so that repairs can be made, and your belongings. Removing trees that fell without damaging an insured structure is often limited or excluded. Ask your adjuster.

What the repair involves

Depending on the damage:

• An engineer’s assessment if rafters, trusses or walls are broken
• A building permit for structural repairs
• Roof framing, sheathing and roofing
• Insulation, drywall and paint inside
• Windows, siding, eavestroughs and fascia
• Electrical repairs where the service or wiring was hit

Small impacts are repaired in days. Structural damage takes weeks, and longer after a regional storm when crews and materials are stretched.

Can you stay in the house?

Often, if the damage is limited to one area that can be closed off and the structure and services are sound. If the roof is open, the structure is in doubt or the power is off, stay elsewhere. Most policies include additional living expenses when the home is unfit to live in because of a covered loss.

More: storm and wind damage restoration.