Hypothetical situation:
Suppose I rent a house that includes a parking space for each of my 300TDs. During a storm, a tree located on the property drops a branch onto one or both of my cars. Is this falling tree damage covered by the homeowners policy of the landlord? What if it is a neighbor's tree? Would the neighbor's homeowner's policy be the insurance to deal with?
This has not happened by the way...

thanks!
K

__________________
Cannondale ST600 XL
Redline Monocog 29er
2011 Mini Cooper Clubman
2005 Honda Element EX

www.djugurba.com
www.waldenwellness.com

Honestly, I dont know. But one thing I do know is that it would be a complete and total ***** getting any money out of anyone: the landlord, his/her house insurance company, or your car insurance company.


The first thing I would do is check with all 3.

__________________
http://comp.uark.edu/~dmgill/signature.jpg

If a tree falls on a mime, does it make a sound?

Okay, if the tree is on your property, your homeowners covers it, less a deductible, providing there's no exclusions (remember, insurance polices are contracts of exclusion) for things like wind damage.

If your neighbor's tree falls across the property line and hits your car, the tree is guilty of "trespass" and the neighbor and/or his insurance, are liabile for the damage and clean up, without deductible.

If the tree is on your property or that which you rent, most likely your auto (other than collision, or comp) coverage will be triggered. If it's the neighbor's tree, then theirs is going to have to pay. But to be sure, ask your agent and when you do, make a note of the date and time and name of the person you spoke to and keep that note with your insurance paperwork. You should always make such notes when speaking to insurance people.

It's still the homeowner/landlord's liability to the tenant, and that's what the insurance is for, unless the homeowner/landlord wants to handle the damage out of his own pocket or through rent "holiday" in order to avoid a property damage claim flag. Either way, the tenant (unless he also had reason to know that parking in that spot was likely to lead to damage) is not negligent to the extent to make him responsible for the damages to his car. If the tenant's insurance pays for the damage, they would subrogate against the property owner.

That's why there are horseraces and litigation attorneys!

Since the damage hypothetical involved auto damage due to falling tree limbs, I would doubt that renter's insurance would come into play, and the true liability issue might be contained in the rental agreement/lease, or presuming that the homeowner has a rental clause in his homeowner's policy since it is a income property.

My car insurance covered a tree falling on my car that was parked in a city parking lot. I tried to get the city to cover it or at least the deductible, but they gave me some song and dance about being immune to claims. My car insurance didn't even question the claim, they just had it fixed.