Recovery Towing After A Fallen Tree Accident
Having a recovery towing company on speed dial in case of emergencies is a wise move for all car owners. For drivers who park their cars in windy, tree-lined areas, recovery towing may be required to extract their car if a falling tree or branch inflicts major damage. Following is a guide on what to do if your car is involved in a fallen tree accident.
Determine the Cause of the Accident
Your car may come into contact with a tree limb in a variety of ways, and gathering the facts of the accident is an essential step that should come first before you contact your insurance company. Whether you collided with a fallen tree on the roadway, or wind caused a branch to break and land on your car’s roof, take multiple pictures of the accident scene to speed up the insurance claims process.
Call Your Auto Insurance Company
Read your auto insurance policy’s declarations of comprehensive and collision coverage before calling their number. If the branch fell onto the vehicle from either your or your neighbor’s property, this repair will be covered under the comprehensive portion of your auto insurance coverage. If you drove into a tree in the roadway or on private property, your collision coverage will be responsible for the damage.
If you can prove the accident was a result of negligence on the part of your neighbors, their homeowner’s insurance policy may be responsible for taking care of the repair. However, this requires solid evidence that you contacted the neighbor before the accident and requested they trim their trees due to a safety concern on your part. You may also need to hire a professional arborist to issue a statement that the accident could have been prevented if the neighbors had maintained their trees.
Contact a Recovery Towing Company
In many cases, a fallen tree can crush a vehicle’s roof, compromising the integrity of its structure and frame, rendering it totaled. Regardless of how the car looks at the scene, it must be towed to an authorized repair shop before the insurance company will make a determination.
Call a recovery towing team specializing in difficult vehicle extractions. They can remove the tree from atop the vehicle for disposal at a later date. They will then lift the damaged car onto a flatbed or attach it to a tow frame and transport it to a repair shop approved by the insurance company and verified by the vehicle owner.
While the vehicle owner must pay the collision or comprehensive coverage deductible, the insurance company will pick up the tab for the tree removal, towing and vehicle repairs if the coverage includes fallen tree accidents.
When you need immediate emergency recovery towing due to a fallen tree or branch accident, call Stauffer’s Towing for professional, personable service.
