Tree Down In Yard

K

KennyO

New Member
Jurisdiction
New York
We had a thunderstorm roll thru here yesterday with high winds & heavy rain. As a result a neighbor's maple tree who's property is behind ours came down & is laying in our yard. Their tree also struck two 30 ft. evergreens on our side of the property & are now leaning over & will have to be taken down. The tree that came down is straddling both property lines & whover removes will have to work on his property & mine. I talked to him & he said he would call his insurance company. I have not contacted mine yet. Who's liable?
 
KennyO said:
Who's liable?
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God.

Call your insurance company. There may be some limited coverage for removal. But not near enough as the actual cost. Get yourself a chainsaw and make yourself some firewood. If you don't need firewood you can probably sell it once it's cut.

Bottom line. Not the neighbor's fault.

You take care of your side, he takes care of his.
 
KennyO said:
Who's liable?
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You are each responsible for the damage to your respective yards unless you can prove that the neighbor's tree that fell over was diseased or damaged and at risk to fall over in a storm, that your neighbor knew or should have known of that risk, and that your neighbor failed to take reasonable steps to address it. You would also have to prove that had the tree not been diseased or damaged it would not have fallen over. In short, you would have to prove your neighbor negligent and that the negligence was in fact the cause of the damages. If your insurance covers your damages then making the insurance claim is by far your best way to get compensated for this. The insurer would then sort out any negligence issues.
 
adjusterjack said:
God.

Call your insurance company. There may be some limited coverage for removal. But not near enough as the actual cost. Get yourself a chainsaw and make yourself some firewood. If you don't need firewood you can probably sell it once it's cut.

Bottom line. Not the neighbor's fault.

You take care of your side, he takes care of his.
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I just looked at the damage again. The only way to remove one of the pines is to remove the maple that is laying against it. Half of that maple is on his property. I've done a little tree work in my day but nothing like this. He told me yesterday that he was putting in a claim for a new fence because his tree took it out & the only way the fence can be replaced is if the trees laying on it are removed. I guess it's time to call Jake.
 
adjusterjack said:
Oh, so Jake is to State Farm what Flo is to Progressive.
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I like the animal mascots better: the geckos, emus, ducks, etc. But whether human or animal, it seems like every major insurance company that markets to consumers has some kind of mascot. It's a bit sad that mascots actually help sell insurance. I mean, sure the gecko is cute and all, but that doesn't tell me how good the insurance product actually is.
 
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Tax Counsel said:
I mean, sure the gecko is cute and all, but that doesn't tell me how good the insurance product actually is.
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The mascots and personalities are not there to inform you about the insurance. They are there to form an association between the company name and something the consumer can associate with the name however dumb that may be. They appeal to low gray matter individuals.

Only pay for what you need. In other words, all you need is liability insurance and forget the collision and compressive. Buy a wet teddy bear if that is all you need.
 
welkin said:
Only pay for what you need. In other words, all you need is liability insurance and forget the collision and compressive. Buy a wet teddy bear if that is all you need.
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The collision and comprehensive coverage can be quite useful when buying a car that is worth a significant amount of money. And if you buy a car with a loan, the lender will insist on that coverage. Sure, if you buy a used car with cash and that doesn't cost you much to begin with then ditching the collision/comprehensive insurance may indeed make the most sense.
 
The insurance buying consumer is generally clueless about what makes a good insurance product or company. The consumer has to be appealed to by colorful mascots, spokespeople, and buzz words and phrases.

They often don't know what they have until they have a claim and find out what they don't have.
 
adjusterjack said:
The insurance buying consumer is generally clueless about what makes a good insurance product or company. The consumer has to be appealed to by colorful mascots, spokespeople, and buzz words and phrases.
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I agree 100%.

The sad thing is that your revelation applies equally as well to voters, consumers in general, those who buy real estate, automobile purchasers, and even those who marry.

Our nation is but a shell of what it once was, and aspired to be.
 
army judge said:
Our nation is but a shell of what it once was, and aspired to be.
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I don't think the general population any less gullible a century ago than today. Charles Ponzi, whose scams gave rise to the label "Ponzi scheme" ran his fraud a century ago, finally being arrested in 1920. They fell for such things then, and they fall for it today.
 
army judge said:
The biggest Ponzi scheme ever conceived by human kind exists today.

It is known as Social Security.
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No. Social Security is no Ponzi scheme. You can call it a lot of things, but it's not that. There is no promised return on the taxes you paid into the system, unlike a Ponzi scheme that promises the mark a (usually really good) return on the money he/she pust into it. The benefits for Social Security are not tied to the taxes you paid in. They are set at whatever level Congress wants to set, and Congress could increase or decrease the benefits at any time, subject only to whatever wrath they'd incur with the voters. The program could even be terminated at any time. It is, in short, nothing more or less than any other government benefits program. Anyone thinking it is some kind retirement program in the style of private pensions/§ 401(k) plans is misguided.
 
Tax Counsel said:
You can call it a lot of things, but it's not that.
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Thanks, Big Bossman, for allowing me to call it many things. Until you authorized me to call it many things, I was timid in doing so.

Now that I have YOUR written permission to do so, I feel empowered.
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