Summer in Ohio means warm days, green landscapes, and often, powerful thunderstorms. While we all hope for clear skies, these intense summer storms can bring unexpected damage, leaving homeowners with a daunting cleanup. When you’re faced with a fallen tree, a flooded basement, or hail-pocked vehicles, your mind immediately goes to, “Is this covered?”
At Bucher Insurance, we want to help you understand your insurance policies so you can face post-storm cleanup with confidence, not confusion. Let’s break down how your home and auto insurance typically handle common storm-related damages.
1. Fallen Trees: When Nature Takes a Tumble
A beautiful old tree can add so much character to your property, but in a severe storm, it can become a significant hazard. Whether it’s your tree or your neighbor’s, fallen trees can cause considerable damage.
What Homeowners Insurance typically covers for fallen trees:
- Damage to Your Home or Other Structures: If a tree falls due to a covered peril (like wind, lightning, or hail) and directly damages your house, garage, shed, or fence, your homeowners insurance will generally cover the repair or replacement of the damaged structure, minus your deductible.
- Damage to Personal Belongings: If the fallen tree damages your personal property (e.g., furniture inside the house, or items in a damaged shed), that’s usually covered under the personal property section of your policy.
- Tree Removal: Most policies will offer limited coverage (often $500 to $1,000 per tree, with a total cap) for the removal of a tree that has fallen due to a covered peril and hit a covered structure. If a tree falls in your yard but doesn’t hit anything, its removal is typically considered part of regular yard maintenance and is usually not covered.
- Neighbor’s Tree on Your Property: If your neighbor’s tree falls on your property due to a storm, your homeowners insurance typically covers the damage to your property. Your insurer may then seek reimbursement from your neighbor’s insurance (a process called subrogation) if the tree’s fall was due to their negligence (e.g., a clearly dead or diseased tree they failed to remove).
Important Note: Your homeowners policy does not cover the removal of a healthy tree that hasn’t fallen, or one that fell due to neglect (like rot or disease).
2. Flood Water: The Often Misunderstood Coverage
This is where many homeowners are caught by surprise. Summer storms can bring torrential rain, leading to flash floods or rising waterways. It’s a common misconception that standard homeowners insurance covers all water damage.
What to know about water damage and floods:
- Standard Homeowners Insurance: Generally covers “sudden and accidental” water damage that originates from within your home (e.g., a burst pipe, an overflowing appliance, a roof leak caused by wind damage).
- Flood Insurance: Damage caused by external flooding (like rising rivers, flash floods from heavy rain overwhelming drainage, or storm surge) is not covered by a standard homeowners policy. For this, you need a separate flood insurance policy, typically purchased through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or a private insurer. In Ohio, many communities participate in the NFIP.
- Sewer Back-up/Sump Pump Overflow: This specific type of water damage (water backing up from a sewer or drain, or a sump pump failing) is often excluded from standard homeowners policies but can usually be added as an endorsement or rider for an additional premium.
If your home is in a flood-prone area, or even a low-risk area (because floods can happen anywhere!), having flood insurance is crucial. There’s often a 30-day waiting period for flood insurance policies to take effect, so don’t wait until the water is rising!
3. Car Hail Damage: Pitted Paint and Cracked Glass
Hailstorms can strike quickly and leave a lasting impression on your vehicle – often in the form of dents, dings, and shattered glass.
What Auto Insurance covers for hail damage:
- Comprehensive Coverage: This is the key! Hail damage to your vehicle is typically covered under the comprehensive portion of your auto insurance policy. Comprehensive coverage protects your vehicle from non-collision incidents, including damage from weather events (like hail, floods, fire, wind), falling objects, theft, and vandalism.
- Deductible: If you file a claim for hail damage, you will be responsible for paying your comprehensive deductible, and your insurer will cover the rest of the repair costs up to your policy’s limit.
- Liability Only: If you only carry liability coverage (which covers damage you cause to other vehicles or property), your policy will not cover hail damage to your own car.
If a hailstorm is approaching, try to move your car into a garage, carport, or even a covered parking deck to protect it.
Let Us Help You Understand What’s Covered Before the Next Storm Hits!
Summer storms are a reality of living in Ohio. While you can’t control the weather, you can control how well prepared you are for its aftermath. Reviewing your policies now can save you a lot of stress and financial burden later.
Don’t wait for the next storm cloud to gather. Contact Jon or Emily at Bucher Insurance today! We’ll help you understand what’s covered in your homeowners and auto policies and ensure you have the right protection in place before the next storm hits.
