A tree fell. What does insurance cover, and what should you document?

First: safety, then photos

If the tree brought down a line or is resting on one, stay clear and report it to your electric utility. FPL says only specially trained line-clearing professionals should work around power lines (FPL tree trimming FAQ). Nobody should start cutting until the utility has made it safe.

Then photograph everything before a single limb moves: the whole tree, the broken trunk or lifted root plate, any rot or damage, and what it hit. Brevard County's code lists the same items for documenting an emergency removal, plus rough height, spread and trunk diameter and the distance to the house (Brevard County Code s. 62-4334(6)). The same set of photos helps when you talk to your insurer.

The general rule when a neighbor's tree falls

UF/IFAS's Handbook of Florida Fence and Property Law describes the general rule from Florida Jurisprudence: if a live tree falls onto a neighbor's property, the neighbor is responsible for their own damages. If a dead tree falls, the tree's owner may be responsible (UF/IFAS FE962). So when a healthy laurel oak next door comes down on your carport in a storm, the conversation usually starts with your own policy.

The dead-tree side is less settled than it sounds. The handbook points out that Florida Jurisprudence isn't binding, and that there's no Florida case law directly on a landowner's duty to remove dead or hazardous trees (FE962). A 2025 bill, SB 724, called the Fallen Tree Act, would have made owners liable when their trees fall on someone else's property. It died in the Banking and Insurance committee on June 16, 2025 (Florida Senate, SB 724). If you think a neighbor's dead pine is a liability question, take it to an attorney.

Overhanging limbs are simpler. If the branches or roots are healthy, the tree's owner isn't liable for damage they cause, and the neighbor may trim them back to the property line at their own expense. Removing a healthy boundary tree without consent can create liability (FE962). In unincorporated Brevard, pruning that damages a tree's viability can also count as land clearing under the county code (s. 62-4338(7)).

What homeowners policies usually say about trees

Florida's Insurance Consumer Advocate says most homeowners policies include a specific amount of coverage for tree and debris removal, and that it may not be enough to finish the whole cleanup. In the state's Get Ready, Florida! survey, about 16 percent of respondents believed their policy covers tree and debris removal from yards (Florida CFO).

Deductibles depend on the cause. The hurricane deductible applies to damage from a named hurricane. If your policy has an optional roof deductible, the same page says it doesn't apply when a tree damages the roof and punctures the roof deck. And flood damage isn't covered by a typical homeowners policy (Florida CFO).

Questions worth asking your insurer or agent, in writing if you can:

• How much does my policy pay for tree and debris removal, and is that per tree or per loss?
• Does it pay anything when a tree falls and hits nothing?
• Which deductible applies to this loss?
• Do you want to inspect before the tree is cut up and hauled, or are photos enough?
• Is grinding the stump part of the removal you'd consider?

The deadlines

Florida law bars a property insurance claim unless notice reaches the insurer within 1 year after the date of loss. A supplemental claim gets 18 months. For hurricanes and other weather events, the date of loss is the date the hurricane made landfall, or the date NOAA verifies the windstorm, tornado or other event (F.S. 627.70132).

Report early anyway. Evidence fades once the wood is gone, and a pile of chips doesn't show where the trunk split.

Where a tree crew fits, and where it doesn't

The crew you're matched with prices the removal and does it. It doesn't decide coverage, and it shouldn't be filing or negotiating your claim. Ask for a written, itemized estimate with removal, stump grinding and haul-away on separate lines, so you can send it to your insurer yourself.

Haul-away belongs on that estimate. Brevard County's storm debris page says contractors hired by a homeowner for tree trimming are responsible for hauling away the yard waste (Brevard County Solid Waste). The Florida CFO also suggests asking your county, your city or FEMA whether debris removal help is available after a disaster (Florida CFO).

To get the tree priced, call or text (321) 604-1285 or send photos through the estimate form. We match you with an independent local crew.