Few things are as frightening as hearing a tree hit your house. Take a breath. The steps below, in this order, keep your family safe, protect your insurance claim, and get the tree off without making the damage worse.
1. Get Everyone Safe
- Leave damaged rooms. A roof or ceiling under a tree can shift or give way.
- Smell gas? Get out now and call 911 from outside.
- Stay away from downed or sagging power lines. Treat every line as live, even if it looks dead. Call 911 and your power company.
- Keep people and pets clear of hanging limbs and anything the tree is resting on.
2. Do Not Cut or Climb
Please do not climb onto the roof or start cutting. A tree resting on a house is full of stored tension. When wood under strain is cut, it can snap, roll or spring back without warning, and that is how people get badly hurt. Leave the cutting to a crew with the right rigging.
3. Take Photos and Call Your Insurance Company
From a safe distance, take photos and video of the tree, the roof, and any damage inside. Then call your insurance company to start a claim. If you need an emergency repair to stop more damage, such as covering a hole, keep every receipt.
What Homeowners Insurance Usually Covers
Every policy is different, so read yours or ask your agent. In general, Consumer Reports explains it this way:
- Damage to your house is claimed through your own insurance, even if the tree was growing in your neighbor's yard.
- Removing the tree is often covered when it damaged a structure, but usually with a cap, commonly $500 or $1,000.
- If the tree fell without hitting a structure, such as across the lawn, you usually pay for removal and cleanup yourself.
- Removing a dead or dangerous tree before it falls is usually treated as maintenance, not an insurance claim.
4. Get the Tree Off Safely
Once everyone is safe, call or text us. Tell us where you are, what fell, and what it is touching. For emergency tree services, we assess before we cut: how the tree is sitting, what it is resting on, and what could still move. If a power line is involved, the utility has to make it safe first. Then we take the weight off the house in controlled pieces, and we talk through cleanup with you before we start.
After a Storm, Watch for Scams
Storms bring out door-to-door crews. Be wary of anyone who wants full payment before any work is done, and get the price in writing. North Carolina's price gouging law applies when a state of emergency has been declared, and you can report concerns to the NC Department of Justice at 1-877-5-NO-SCAM.
Help in Asheboro and Randolph County
We handle storm-damaged trees in Asheboro and across Randolph County. Call or text our main phone at (336) 523-8278 or our alternate phone at (336) 479-4339. If anyone is hurt or a power line is down, call 911 first.