A Tree Fell on Your House in Puerto Rico: First Steps

A tree on your house is one of the most stressful things that can happen to a homeowner, and in Puerto Rico it usually happens at the worst possible time: during or right after a storm, often with the power out and the phones unreliable. The decisions you make in the first few hours matter for your family's safety, for the house, and later for your insurance claim.

This is a practical, step-by-step guide. It is general guidance, not legal or insurance advice. Your policy and your adjuster decide what is covered. What we can tell you is the order of operations that keeps people safe and keeps your options open.

Step 1: Get everyone out of the affected area

If a tree has come through the roof or a wall, assume that part of the house is unstable. Move everyone, including pets, to a part of the house well away from the impact, or out of the house entirely if you are unsure.

• Do not stand under the damaged section of ceiling. Wet drywall and broken rafters can come down without warning.
• If anyone is hurt, call 911.
• If you smell gas, leave the house and call 911 from a safe distance.

Step 2: Check for power lines before anything else

Many trees that hit houses in Puerto Rico bring service lines down with them. Treat every wire as live.

• If a line is down, touching the tree, or touching the house, stay away from the tree and anything it is resting on. Call 911 and LUMA at 1-844-888-5862.
• Do not try to move the tree, the line, or branches touching the line.
• No tree crew should cut a tree that is in contact with a line until the utility has de-energized it. If someone offers to, that is a warning sign.

Step 3: Do not go on the roof

It is natural to want to see the damage up close or to throw a tarp over it right away. Do not climb onto a roof that has a tree on it. The weight of the tree is being held in ways you cannot see, and cutting or even stepping near it can shift it. Wet roofs after a storm are also slippery. Look from the ground and from inside, from a safe distance.

Step 4: Photograph everything before work starts

Before anyone cuts anything, take photos and video. This is the single most useful thing you can do for your insurance claim, and it only takes a few minutes.

• Wide shots of the whole house and the tree from several angles
• Close-ups of where the tree hit the roof, walls, windows, or vehicles
• The base of the tree and the root area, to show how it fell
• Interior damage: ceilings, water, furniture, floors
• The date and time, if your phone records them

Keep taking photos as the work progresses. For a detailed list, see our tree damage photo checklist.

Step 5: Call your insurance company

Report the damage to your insurer as soon as you reasonably can. Each policy is different, so ask directly:

• Is tree removal from the structure covered, and up to what amount?
• Do they want an adjuster to see the tree before it is removed, or can emergency removal go ahead to prevent more damage?
• What documentation do they need from the tree company?

Write down the claim number, the name of the person you spoke to, and the date. If you cannot reach your insurer right away, keep documenting and keep a record of your attempts. Your adjuster decides what is covered. We will not tell you something is covered, because only your policy can answer that.

Step 6: Prevent more damage, but only when it is safe

Most policies expect homeowners to take reasonable steps to stop damage from getting worse, such as keeping rain out. But "reasonable" never means putting yourself at risk.

• From inside, you can move belongings away from leaks and put down buckets or towels.
• A tarp over an opening is a good idea once the tree is off the roof or a professional confirms it is safe to work near it.
• Keep every receipt for tarps, materials, hotel stays, or anything else you buy because of the damage.

Why removing a tree from a house is a rigging job

A tree resting on a house is not cut down the way a tree in an open yard is. Part of its weight is pressing on the structure, and part is held by its own branches and trunk. If a crew cuts in the wrong place, the tree can drop further into the house or roll in a direction nobody expected.

Professional removal from a structure usually means:

• Assessing how the load is distributed before any cut is made
• Rigging with ropes, and sometimes a crane, so each piece is lifted or lowered under control instead of falling
• Removing the tree in sections, starting with the parts that can come off without shifting the rest
• Protecting the roof and walls from further impact as pieces come off

This is skilled, slower work, and it costs more than a simple felling. As a planning range, tree removal in Puerto Rico typically runs $300 to $2,500, and a large tree on a structure sits at the top of that range or above it depending on size, access, and whether a crane is needed. Our tree removal service page explains how that pricing works, and the only firm number comes from someone looking at the tree.

After the tree is off the house

Once the tree is off the structure, the remaining work is usually less urgent:

• Cutting up and hauling away the trunk and branches
• Grinding the stump (typically $100 to $400 per stump, planning range)
• Having an arborist look at nearby trees that went through the same storm, since one failure is often a warning about the others

You can read how we handle this phase on our storm cleanup service page. If you are in the Caguas area, see our storm cleanup in Caguas page, and for the north coast, our tree removal in Toa Baja page.

Keep a simple file

Start a folder (paper or on your phone) with:

• All photos and video, before, during, and after
• Your claim number and notes from every call
• The tree company's written quote and invoice
• Receipts for tarps, repairs, lodging, and other costs

A tidy file will not make an uncovered claim covered, but it removes most of the friction from a claim that is.

Who to call, in order

1. 911 if anyone is hurt, if you smell gas, or if a line is down
2. LUMA at 1-844-888-5862 for any downed or damaged power line
3. Your insurance company to open the claim
4. A tree service to assess and remove the tree safely, once lines are confirmed safe

The bottom line

Safety first, lines second, photos third, insurer fourth, and only then the cutting. Following that order protects your family and your claim.

If a tree is on your house right now, call our 24/7 storm line at (787) 969-7802 and we will talk you through the next steps.