Spring storms are coming? Do you hear them gathering? They will be here and they will be strong.
Ok, enough drama. We're Texas. We've seen it before. For you new folks to the state, buckle up, it will be a bumpy ride, but it is a ride that affords you a rite of passage and the opportunity, no the privilege to finally call yourself Texan.
Ok, seriously, enough drama. But storms will be here and you'll want to know some things.
Like, what do you do when your magnolia tree splits and lands on your neighbor's home.
You may know about hail claims, but you don't know about partially or full split tree falling on neighbor's house or in their yard claims. Who pays for this?
Fortunately, Insurance For Texans is no stranger to the bizarre.
Though often confusing for the homeowners involved, we see the simplicity and are glad to share a bit of what we know.
Your Grapevine home is covered if your tree falls on it. This is usually taken care of pretty quickly by insurance adjusters.
What about your tree falling on a neighbor's home? Negligence plays a role here and helps to determine the financial responsibility. Did you fail to exercise the care that the law requires to protect others? You may ask what this has to do with your tree falling anywhere? You didn't cut it down after all.
Your insurance carrier will want to determine if you cared for your tree well. How will they determine that? They'll look at the health of the tree. If it was in good shape, no negligence. If it was rotting or rotted, and you didn't take care t address it before the storm, you could find yourself responsible for the damages and your home insurance policy will likely cover.
However, the dreaded brittle and storm projectile laden Bradford Pear could have just snapped (as Bradford Pear trees tend to do in a storm) in the high winds and fell on your neighbor's home, leaving their insurance policy to cover the damage.
Could this put a strain on neighborly relations? Absolutely. That 4th of July potluck may have a whole set of different fireworks.
That's why as a local, independent insurance agency, we advocate being a good neighbor, even if you are not required to be.
Maybe offer to pay the deductible or be Johnny or Sally-on-the-spot to help with cleaning debris.
If the damage and cleaning doesn't add up to the deductible, offering to cover the cost outside of a claim may put you in a the category of Prime Texan right away.
We take care of each other here.
This kind of thing is going to happen. Austin isn't the only place that gets weird in the great state.
If you run across questions you have on what is or isn't covered, let us know. We're glad to help and it doesn't hurt that we know about Texas and insurance.
