Hello!
BACKGROUND: (skip to insurance question if you like)
My house is backed up to a wetlands preserve managed by the South Florida Water Management District. My HOA contracts a company to manage the land under the District's directions (to plant natives and remove exotics, etc…).
There are tall slash pines with native Virginia Creeper vines growing up them. Some are already losing branches and looking ill. I am trying to get my HOA to either have the company cut the vines, or let us residents cut the vines at the base near the property line so that the vines will die off and hopefully safe the trees. The problem is, these vines are not invasive and have benefits to the ecosystem.
I have a feeling this is all going to take some time to figure out, and hurricane season is upon is. Honestly I think at least two or three of the trees are beyond help and need to come down. One is leaning slightly towards my neighbor's house.
INSURANCE QUESTION:
I've been trying to read up as much as possible, and been combing through my HOI policy. I'm trying to know what will happen if one of these pines does split or uproot and hit our house. Obviously I will try to file a claim… but how does that part work about pre-existing / poorly maintained trees? Does it really matter since it's not my tree? Does that change if I send correspondence to the HOA or Water District alerting them to the dangerous trees? Are there any other questions or concerns I should be exploring at this time?
Thanks very much for you help. Let me know if you need any info from my policy. I do have "Falling Objects" coverage. I searched the whole thing for the word "tree" and it was mostly concerning their coverage of removing fallen plants that have not hit a structure.
Thanks r/insurance !!
Sickly vine-covered pine trees on preserve land behind my house.
byu/Carbapenemayonaise inInsurance
Posted by Carbapenemayonaise