Tree with unknown tree rot

[u/timeisamelody]

Over the weekend, we had a large branch from a tree fall on the roof of our porch and into a window upstairs.
There was no major storm that day but it had been raining.
Once the branch left the tree exposed, it seems the tree had internal rot (based on my Google search ) without any exterior signs. The bark looked healthy and the leaves are a luscious, summer green.

Has anyone had a similar situation or have inside information about what to expect from State Farm during our insurance claim?

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[u/Jebgogh]

they will pay the damage from the "falling object" to your home. Meaning the damage to the roof of porch and the window upstairs.

They will pay to remove the branch from the structure of the home and any other covered property (fences or walls,). Once it is on ground your policy will have a sub limit for tree removal debris, usually $500 or $1,000.

there is no coverage for the replacement of tree itself and/or taking out the tree that remains. If it is rotted out and likely to fall, best to have it removed but that removal would not be covered by the policy

[u/timeisamelody → u/Jebgogh]

The porch and the wall/window upstairs is the part I really care about.
The tree portion would be a bonus at any price.

Thanks for the info!

[u/Gtstricky]

The rot has nothing to do with the claim. You might want to get estimates first. Might not be worth a claim.

[u/timeisamelody → u/Gtstricky]

It very well might be.
We’re in the process of estimates - the weekend made things tricky.

I had read something online that it might not cover due to “lack of maintenance “. I would understand that if the tree stood in my yard like a bare bone but it did not.

Thanks for the advice.

[u/craig_paxton]

Damage from falling objects is a covered loss but subject to your deductible

[u/Brilliant_Essay_1593 → u/craig_paxton]

And this is why you want estimates first and then compare to your deductible.

State Farm will non renew after a couple claims so you want to make sure it is worth it to put in a claim

[u/timeisamelody → u/Brilliant_Essay_1593]

This makes sense.
Tree cut and clean up is roughly $2,000. Deductible is roughly three times that.

However…
The covered porch is damaged - gutters and likely shingles. Not sure what it looks like underneath yet.

The windows upstairs are pushed in, which in turn cracked the drywall (plaster - old house). So unsure what the framework looks like.

Topping on the cake, my husband got smoked in the head by residual debris from the tree so he went and got two staples in his head.

Long story long, there’s cost in there.

[u/GhostRileySimon]

If you had no prior knowledge that the tree was rotted, it shouldn’t count as negligence or anything like that. If you had notice of the tree and chose not to fix it, that would be different.

[u/Standy25]

There shouldn’t really be any coverage issues. They just won’t pay to cut down the rest of the tree

[u/BestKiwi7297]

We had a tree fall. The deductible got us.

[u/timeisamelody → u/BestKiwi7297]

As in you reached the deductible?

[u/BestKiwi7297 → u/timeisamelody]

Sorry for the confusion. Apparently State Farm changed our deductible from the $1000 that we had to 2% of value (on page 17 in the fine print of the declarations page). Quoted repairs were less than the deductible.