Liability for damage caused by a falling tree?

[Jackie]

The recent snow and a fir tree falling in our garden under the weight of snow on its branches caused me to think what would my liability be if it had fallen the other way onto the road that passes our house. Further would I be in any way liable if someone had had the misfortune to be passing by at the time and was somewhat squashed? In fact another branch on a different tree, we have a line of them along the edge of our property, did break and fall into the road without damage to anyone I am glad to say! The same question about responsibility could apply to the telephone and power lines that pass along the side of the road, who would pay for repair and reconnection if one of our trees fell through them?

 

Out of curiosity I contacted the insurance company for our property and was told that if the tree had been old and rotten the responsibility for any damage caused by it falling would be ours and that our policy provided cover for this. However if a tree with no obvious faults fell as a result of a storm or just the weight of snow then Force Majeure would apply and we were not covered but we would not be considered to be liable either.

 

Now I am no expert on insurance British or French but if the above is true what redress does the poor soul have who has been squished by one of our trees? It would seem to me that in the event of an accident someone would have to decide what was the state of the tree before it fell. Any experience of this anyone?………John not Jackie

[cooperlola]

Interesting if this is true.  I'm glad I've got personal accident cover - must now check if this covers being crushed by a healthy tree in a storm.

[Anton Redman]

The insurance position as recorded above does make sense to me. Imagine a situation where you could insure for rotten trees falling down, even if you knew they were rotten. Everybody who found a rotten tree would promptly insure. If I had loads of trees, capable of falling on road, I might write to Insurance Company explaining I had felled 'X' trees because I thought they were dead and inviting them to have a look at the rest. Posh Legal term is Ubreame Fidelie ( of the upmost good faith)   probably misspelt in Latin because Bill Gates includes an Canadien French spell checker but does not included Latin  

[cooperlola]

Funny Anton, I read it completely the opposite way to the way you did.  I thought the original poster had said that the insurance would cover her if the trees were rotten but not if not.  Sorry if I misunderstood.

[Jackie]

Yes that is what I took the insurance agent to mean in that a rotten tree falling would be my liability and therefore our insurance provided cover but a healthy tree falling in a storm etc would come under Force Majeure and not be covered but also not my liability. I am not familiar with the term Force Majeure, is it the same as an act of God? I have not specifically insured against falling trees and have formed the opinion that cover was automatic under the section of the insurance policy called "Responsabilite Civile Vie Privee".

Another strange thing about French insurance was that the same agent told us that if our car was stolen and had an accident we would be liable for damage caused and therefore our motor insurance provided cover for this event. We drove around in a Brit registered car for a bit when we first arrived in France before buying a car here. This Brit reg car was insured with a French company and when we bought a car here I cancelled the insurance on the Brit car and took out a new insurance on the French reg car. We then stored the Brit reg car our barn for a time before selling it to someone who was going back to the UK. The insurance company were keen that I render it incapable of being driven whilst it was in the barn and pointed out that I would be at risk, now it was uninsured, should it be stolen and be involved in an accident. Clearly French law and insurance functions in a different way to that in the UK. Coming back to the trees any thoughts anyone?...........J

[andyh4]

Jackie

in this instance Force Majeure does mean the same as an act of God, but more generally it has a slightly different meaning - that the person who might normally be liable is not liable because of events over which they have no control and which they could not reasonably have taken protection. (sorry if that sounds a bit like insurance small print speak).

So a storm falls into that category if your tree was sound.

As to the victim in such a case, they would be covered by their own accident policy (hopefully).

 

As an aside, UK policies are just as fraught.  After the recent storms a policy holder that I heard about had severe damage to his garden as a result of fallen trees and fence panels being destroyed.  The insurnace company told him that if a tree falls over in a storm it is not covered.  If a fence panel blows away in a storm, it is also not covered; but if a tree falls in a storm and destroys the fence panel, both are covered.   Funny old world.

[allanb]

It's uberrimae fidei (utmost good faith).

I'm afraid that's all I can contribute on this topic at the moment, but I may have more in the future.  I have a couple of trees that are not exactly rotten, but not very healthy either, and they're leaning at a scary angle.  I've been intending to consult my insurer for some time, and this thread has prompted me to act.  If I learn anything interesting I'll share it.

It does occur to me that once I consult my insurer I can no longer say that I couldn't reasonably have foreseen that the tree might fall - obviously I did, or else why did I consult him?  Still, it must be the sensible thing to do.