Hurricane Ida Special Report: Damage From Falling Trees
Wednesday, September 1st, 2021 SubrogationWe have recently seen an uptick in cases where a tree has fallen on to a neighbor’s house, with calamitous results. Hurricane Ida will likely only increase such claims.
As the first-party claim by the homeowner is processed, subrogation professionals are usually involved to determine if the owner of the tree was at fault and if there is a viable third-party subrogation claim.
Typically, the knee-jerk defense to such a claim is a blanket denial based upon the Act of God Defense.
Rarely is a tree so diseased or old that it simply falls completely of its own accord. More often, there is some wind event, such as a tornado or hurricane, which provides the last straw.
When these circumstances occur, what can a subrogation professional do to combat the Act of God Defense?
