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Insurance Scenario - Big Tree Fall Hard?
Posted on 6/27/24 at 10:57 am
Posted on 6/27/24 at 10:57 am
I have somewhat of a unique scenario and wanted to pose to the MT:
We own our home and have homeowners insurance that covers our home and lot. We were fortunate to get a great rate during the pandemic and have no intention on changing that for the foreseeable future.
We were able to purchase the vacant lot adjacent to us using a combination HELOC + cash. That is a separate lot of record, so my existing homeowners does not include coverage on it.
We’ve done some improvements to the new lot (patio, landscaping, etc- no habitable structure) as it has an amazing 200 year old oak tree that provides much needed shade and a great space for the kids to run around.
We had a arborist do a cursory inspection of the tree before we bought the lot where he gave us the age estimate and said it’s in pretty good shape.
The problem is, with this large tree, it does encroach on 3 of the surrounding lots and 2 of those the limbs are above their homes.
Currently, I don’t have insurance on the lot with the tree and am concerned that I need to be protected for something unforeseen, and that I could be sued by one of my neighbors insurance companies if a hurricane comes through.
I’ve asked my agent to provide feedback, but I also wanted to pose this to the board to see if anyone has experience in a similar scenario or could offer advice on the best way to protect myself here.
In the future, we may want to add on the our existing house and combine the two lots into one lot of record, however until we do that, I like the flexibility of having the lots separated in case I want to sell or build a spec home one one.
I also don’t want to trigger anything that may cause me to not keep my low interest rate on my home, which may happen if I combine the lots today.
Anyone have any experience with a similar situation?
TIA
We own our home and have homeowners insurance that covers our home and lot. We were fortunate to get a great rate during the pandemic and have no intention on changing that for the foreseeable future.
We were able to purchase the vacant lot adjacent to us using a combination HELOC + cash. That is a separate lot of record, so my existing homeowners does not include coverage on it.
We’ve done some improvements to the new lot (patio, landscaping, etc- no habitable structure) as it has an amazing 200 year old oak tree that provides much needed shade and a great space for the kids to run around.
We had a arborist do a cursory inspection of the tree before we bought the lot where he gave us the age estimate and said it’s in pretty good shape.
The problem is, with this large tree, it does encroach on 3 of the surrounding lots and 2 of those the limbs are above their homes.
Currently, I don’t have insurance on the lot with the tree and am concerned that I need to be protected for something unforeseen, and that I could be sued by one of my neighbors insurance companies if a hurricane comes through.
I’ve asked my agent to provide feedback, but I also wanted to pose this to the board to see if anyone has experience in a similar scenario or could offer advice on the best way to protect myself here.
In the future, we may want to add on the our existing house and combine the two lots into one lot of record, however until we do that, I like the flexibility of having the lots separated in case I want to sell or build a spec home one one.
I also don’t want to trigger anything that may cause me to not keep my low interest rate on my home, which may happen if I combine the lots today.
Anyone have any experience with a similar situation?
TIA
Posted on 6/27/24 at 11:17 am to RandyNewman
your neighbors would have to prove you were negligent in taking care of a rotting tree that caused a fall onto neighbor's property. You can also be sued but that doesn't mean they have a case. What i'm not sure of is if your homeowner's liability extends to this lot or not, that's what you need to see about. Not just a tree issue, just your typical trip and fall etc of being sued.
Posted on 6/27/24 at 12:24 pm to RandyNewman
Does an umbrella policy cover this sort of liability?
Posted on 6/27/24 at 12:30 pm to Chad504boy
quote:
What i'm not sure of is if your homeowner's liability extends to this lot or not, that's what you need to see about. Not just a tree issue, just your typical trip and fall etc of being sued.
This would be my concern. Sounds like he's taking on a lot of risk for something that could be added as a rider (correct term) to an existing policy for a minimal increase. I also assume, he would most likely need some sort of basic coverage to have it included under an umbrella policy.
Posted on 6/27/24 at 12:42 pm to RandyNewman
If you own it, insure it. You will get piece of mind if you do. There is vacant land insurance or maybe an umbrella. If someone gets hurt on that property, you could be in a pickle.
Posted on 6/27/24 at 1:00 pm to RandyNewman
If the tree is healthy and falls during a storm, their insurance covers it. If you don't have a structure on the property and it's just an empty lot, your homeowners policy will extend liability to that lot.
Posted on 6/27/24 at 1:27 pm to Weekend Warrior79
quote:
as a rider (correct term)
I never use that word. lol more like endorsement. It’s needing to add a location to liability, but it’s really gonna be insurance co specific as to what can be done or not done.
Posted on 6/27/24 at 2:44 pm to DarthRebel
That what I’m thinking too- not only a storm but we have kids parties as well.
Posted on 6/27/24 at 2:48 pm to Chad504boy
We just renewed our homeowners - I asked our agent about it and kinda got the run around that it wouldn’t be covered, but didn’t get a clear answer on what type of product I’d need to cover it.
Like others have said, you’d think I could get some sort of add on / endorsement etc that could protect us for minimal cost.
Like others have said, you’d think I could get some sort of add on / endorsement etc that could protect us for minimal cost.
Posted on 6/27/24 at 3:27 pm to RandyNewman
If the limbs are hanging over their house do they have a right to cut the limb back? Just curious.
Posted on 6/27/24 at 3:35 pm to TDsngumbo
quote:
your homeowners policy will extend liability to that lot.
This but the lot must be VACANT. No fence, tree house, sidewalk, shed, parking pad, nothing. Just land, trees, and weeds.
Liability is extended to vacant property automatically. However, and this is very important, what we consider vacant land is probably not what the insurance industry understands as “vacant”.
According to the ISO (Insurance Service Office), the advisory organization that provides standardization in the insurance industry, vacant land is considered to be a property with no man-made structures on the premises. So even if your vacant property has a pole barns, shed, fence, wall, telephone pole, or a paved road, it is no longer considered “vacant land” according to the insurance definition and liability would not automatically extend.
Therefore, it is best to cover any other land owned with a premises liability policy. This is a policy that gives liability coverage for a defined piece of land (whether it is a street address, parcel ID, or even latitude/longitude coordinates).
Posted on 6/27/24 at 4:49 pm to WhiskeyThrottle
quote:Umbrella policies are excess liability policies above and beyond the amount of liability coverage on your primary policies (homeowner, auto, boat, RV, motorcycle, premises liability, etc). For umbrella coverage to apply, you would need an underlying liability policy on the lot (most likely with at least $300k in coverage) and declare said lot as a location on the umbrella. Even then, your umbrella coverage would only come into play if you were being held liable for damages that exceeded the underlying liability policy's max coverage limits.
Does an umbrella policy cover this sort of liability?
To answer OP...you can be sued for anything, but it doesn't mean they'll win. They'd likely have to prove that you were negligent in some way, such as being aware that the tree was termite ridden or in otherwise bad shape and was at risk of falling. The neighbor's homeowners insurance would cover their damages if the tree fell on it though and they have the right to cut limbs that cross over to their side of the property line.
ETA: OP needs to contact his homeowner company and find out if there's an endorsement that can be added to his policy to extend liability to that lot. Normally vacant lots are automatically covered under your homeowners, but to be considered a "vacant lot" it cannot have any man-made structures on it. No fences, no old slab, no kid's playground set, no shed....nothing. So the liability on his homeowners wouldn't automatically extend in this case. If endorsement to add the lot isn't an option, he needs a separate premises liability policy on it
This post was edited on 6/27/24 at 4:53 pm
Posted on 6/27/24 at 4:54 pm to Auburn80
quote:Yes. They have a right to trim anything on their side of the property line.
If the limbs are hanging over their house do they have a right to cut the limb back? Just curious.
Posted on 6/27/24 at 5:05 pm to Chad504boy
quote:
never use that word. lol more like endorsement.
Yep that’s it. It’s what I have w my GL policy, was just too lazy to pull the policy to see what’s was called

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