The short answer: a tree on your land is usually your bill, your homeowner's insurance steps in mainly when the tree damages something it covers, the city pays only for trees it is responsible for, the utility clears its own lines and not your yard, and FEMA rarely pays a homeowner directly to haul a tree away. The details matter, so here they are one by one.
This page is general information, not insurance or legal advice. Policies differ, and the wording in yours is what counts. Before you agree to any work, read your policy's declarations page and talk to your insurance agent. Tree Service Orlando FL is a free phone line, not an insurer or a tree company, and it cannot tell you what your claim will pay.
When your homeowner's insurance usually pays
Most standard policies treat a fallen tree according to what it hit and what knocked it over. The most common outcomes look like this:
- The tree damaged your house, garage, fence or another covered structure from a covered event such as wind or lightning. The repair to the structure is typically covered, minus your deductible, and the policy usually adds some money to remove the tree from the structure.
- The tree fell in the yard and hit nothing. Many policies pay nothing to remove it. As one source quoted by Consumer Reports put it, there is technically no damage to claim. Some policies make an exception when the tree blocks a driveway.
- The tree itself is the loss. The Insurance Information Institute says standard policies cover trees, plants and shrubs generally up to about $500 per item, but only for named causes such as fire, lightning, theft and vandalism. Wind and disease are not among them.
Debris removal limits
Even when the claim is covered, the money for getting the tree off the property is usually capped. According to the Insurance Information Institute, as reported by Consumer Reports, insurers generally limit what they pay for tree removal to $500 or $1,000. A large laurel oak lying on a roof can cost more than that to take down and haul, so expect to pay the difference unless your policy says otherwise. Your policy's "debris removal" wording tells you the exact number, and whether it is per tree or per event.
That is one reason a written quote matters. When you are connected with a local tree company, ask it to separate the line items: removing the tree from the roof, cutting and hauling the wood, and stump grinding. Your adjuster can then see which parts relate to the covered damage.
Florida's hurricane deductible, explained
If a hurricane brought the tree down, a different deductible probably applies, and it is often much larger than the one you pay for a kitchen fire.
How big it is
The Florida Department of Financial Services says hurricane deductible options are $500, 2%, 5% or 10% of the dwelling coverage limit. On a home insured for $300,000, a 2% deductible works out to $6,000 before the policy pays.
When it applies
Under Florida Statute 627.4025, a loss counts as a hurricane loss if it happens from the time the National Hurricane Center issues a hurricane warning for any part of Florida until 72 hours after the last hurricane watch or warning for Florida ends.
Once per year
The state says the hurricane deductible applies once per calendar year to all covered hurricane losses. If a second hurricane hits the same year and you have the same insurer, you pay the greater of what is left of the hurricane deductible or your regular deductible.
When a neighbor's tree falls on your house
This is where most people expect the neighbor to pay, and where insurance usually works the other way. Your homeowner's policy covers your house, so you normally file with your own insurer even when the tree grew next door. An independent agent quoted by Consumer Reports summed it up: if the neighbor's tree falls on your house, it is your problem. Your insurer may later try to recover what it paid from the neighbor's insurer, which can return your deductible, but that is not certain.
Whether the neighbor is legally responsible depends on the condition of the tree and what the owner knew. The University of Florida's Handbook of Florida Fence and Property Law describes a distinction drawn in Florida Jurisprudence: when a dead tree falls on adjoining land, the owner of the tree is responsible, and when a living tree falls, the neighbor who suffered the damage bears it. The same handbook warns that no Florida case law discusses that distinction, that it is not binding, and that there is no case law on point about a landowner's duty to remove dead or hazardous trees.
Two practical points come out of that. If a neighbor's tree looks dead or is leaning toward your house, tell them in writing and keep a copy, with dated photos. And if it already fell, photograph everything before anything is moved. None of this is legal advice. For a dispute, talk to an attorney.
Florida law does let you deal with branches before they become a problem. The same UF handbook says a neighbor is privileged to trim back encroaching branches and roots to the property line at their own expense. Trimming is different from removing the tree, and it should not kill or destabilize it. The tree trimming page explains what a careful crew does.
Trees the City of Orlando is responsible for
The City of Orlando maintains trees in the public right-of-way, the strip along many streets that belongs to the city. According to the city, it handles low hanging or broken branches over roads or sidewalks, right-of-way trees that appear dead or diseased, and branches blocking streetlights. Report them online through the city's SeeClickFix portal, by phone at 407.246.2283 or by email at trees@orlando.gov. For a fallen tree blocking a road, the city lists its non-emergency line, 321.235.5300.
The city is just as clear about what it will not do. It does not handle trees on private property, trees near power lines (those go to OUC) or branches over houses and other structures, and it recommends hiring a certified arborist or qualified tree service for trees on your own land. If a neighbor's tree is causing a problem, the city points residents to Code Enforcement.
Winter Park, Kissimmee, Sanford and the rest of the area have their own public works departments, and unincorporated land is handled by each county. If you are not sure who owns a tree near the street, ask the city or county before you pay to remove it. If it turns out to be your tree and you want it gone, the tree removal permit guide explains when a permit is needed.
What the power company pays for, and what it leaves
OUC
OUC, which serves the City of Orlando and St. Cloud, trims along its distribution lines on a routine cycle about every three years and tells customers never to trim near power lines themselves. To request trimming near a line, call (407) 423-9018 or use the request form on its website. Its job is the line, not the rest of your tree.
Duke Energy
Duke Energy says the property owner has primary responsibility for keeping the service line to the house clear, and that an owner can ask Duke to de-energize that line at no cost before a qualified crew works near it. It states plainly that it does not clean up tree debris caused by severe weather; after a storm its crews clear lines and equipment, and the wood in your yard is yours.
FEMA and storm debris
After big storms, "will FEMA pay for tree removal" becomes a common search. The honest answer is that FEMA rarely pays a homeowner to remove a tree from their own yard. A FEMA notice on storm cleanup says debris removal from private property is generally the responsibility of the property owner, and tells residents to check with their insurance agent about tree damage.
FEMA's Individuals and Households Program can help eligible households with temporary housing, repairs to an owner-occupied primary home and other uninsured disaster costs. FEMA says it cannot provide assistance for losses that are covered by insurance.
Separately, a city or county can ask FEMA's Public Assistance program to help pay for clearing debris from private property, but only in limited situations. FEMA's fact sheet on private property debris removal says the work is done by the state or local government, that removal from residential property is usually not in the public interest, and that it can qualify when the debris creates an immediate threat to life, public health, safety or economic recovery. In practice, the help most Orlando-area homeowners see after a hurricane is curbside collection run by their city or county.
In unincorporated Orange County, the county says only storm debris set out by its yard waste rules goes with regular curbside collection: limbs and palm fronds cut to 3 feet or less and tied, bundles under 60 pounds, up to 3 cubic yards per household per week. Larger piles may be collected separately through a special storm recovery pickup program. Debris should be in separate piles by type. Cities that run their own collection publish their own rules, so check yours.
A simple order to follow after a tree falls
- Keep everyone away from the tree and from any wires. If a line is down or someone is hurt, call 911, then the utility.
- Photograph the tree, the damage and the stump or root plate from several angles before anything is moved.
- Read your policy's hurricane deductible and debris removal sections, then call your insurance agent.
- If the tree is near the street, check whether it belongs to the city or county.
- Get a written quote that separates removal from the structure, hauling and stump grinding, and send it to your adjuster.
- Ask the tree company for its certificate of insurance before it starts. Your insurer may ask for it too.
Check the company yourself. Florida has no state license for tree trimming or removal, so ask the company for a certificate of general liability and workers' compensation insurance, and for the ISA certification number of its arborist. You can confirm a certification with the ISA's credential lookup (opens in a new tab).
A tree on the roof or across the driveway? Call the free line and get put through to a local tree company that can give you a written quote for your adjuster.
How this line works: Tree Service Orlando FL is a free phone line, not a tree service company. It does not trim, remove, quote or schedule tree work and holds no license or arborist certification. Calls are transferred to independent, locally owned tree service companies in the Orlando area. Those companies may pay Tree Service Orlando FL a referral fee. You never pay the line. How it works.
Services for a fallen tree
- Storm and Hurricane Tree Damage
- Emergency Tree Removal (24/7)
- Tree Debris Removal and Hauling
- Tree Removal