A Seaforth resident says she is being strong-armed into going through her insurance after a municipal tree fell on her house last week.
Christine Davidson told CKNX News that a limb from a tree on Huron East owned land fell on her roof on Wednesday, September 3. Despite being a clear day with no adverse weather conditions, she said witnesses from a nearby construction company saw the branch come down on her home.
Days later, she received an estimate on the cost of repairing the damage that is over $5,000. But she alleges the Municipality isn't going to help unless she plays by its rules and files a claim with her insurance company.
"This is a tree on city property, that is in poor health, that fell on a day where there was no poor weather. A healthy tree doesn't fall on a sunny day," she said. "They're asking me to pay like a $2,500 deductible, on top of losing my claims forgiveness... I don't understand why the city is not even willing to look into this for me."
Davidson, who works in personal insurance, alleged that during the initial conversations with the Municipality's head of public works, it sounded like there was a willingness to pay.
"He had offered and said they would write up an agreement to pay for damages to my house, and when I started to inquire — because I work in insurance — as to whether they had coverage for voluntary property damage, is when he started to get up in arms and turning it around and saying it needs to go through your insurance," she said.
The Municipality said that is standard policy for damage claims.
"We are reviewing the circumstances in accordance with our policies and applicable legislation. Pursuant to the guidance of our insurance advisors, property owners are required to submit damage claims through their own insurer. While we cannot discuss specific details of an ongoing matter, we remain committed to working with the homeowner and their insurer to ensure the situation is managed appropriately," read a statement provided by Huron East spokesperson.
However, Davidson says that it's a fundamental misunderstanding that her insurance company is the only one that can respond to the claim. But she says efforts to get the Municipality to provide access to its insurance provider have gone unanswered.
She also lamented the lack of maintenance on the town's trees, noting that there had been no crews out checking limbs in the area, particularly after the EF1 downburst in Mitchell earlier this summer.
"You're stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to city trees. It's illegal to touch them, but you report them and then they go on a waiting list," she said. "If it's clearly the responsibility of the city to trim them and maintain them and check health, why isn't that being done?"
When asked about its tree maintenance schedule, a Huron East spokesperson said the Municipality "uses a licensed arborist to assess problem trees and complete removal work. Potential problem trees are identified by staff through regular patrols and through communication with the public." No specifics were provided on how often tree checks are completed.
Davidson noted that she didn't report the tree, but it was clearly in poor health.
She now says they will explore other legal options.