What Happens If My Neighbor’s Tree Falls in My Yard?

Trees can be one of the best features about a neighborhood or property, but it can also leave homeowners in a sticky situation if they cause damage after a storm.  For the most part homeowners are responsible for what falls into their own yard.  This means that if a neighbor’s tree falls into your yard, your homeowners insurance could help cover the cost of removing the tree and remedying the damage it caused on your property, after your deductible.

The same is true in reverse: If a tree on your property falls in your neighbor’s yard, your neighbor should contact his or her insurance company to determine what type of coverage is available for damage or cleanup in their yard.

Although majority of these circumstances can be worked out between the neighbors, sometimes extensive damage may need to file a homeowners insurance claim. Your homeowners insurance may or may not cover the cost of tree cleanup, depending on your policy and the company you work with.

If there’s ever an issue between neighbors, you can rely on Emerling Floss Murphy & Associates to help straighten everything out.


THE CLAIMS PROCESS

If a tree falls on your house, the first thing to do, if it’s safe, is to try to prevent further damage to your home and property. Make sure to take some photos to document what happened. Then call your insurance agent, who can explain your options and help you understand if and how to file a claim. When you file a claim, a claims adjuster will come by to evaluate the damage and explain how your homeowners coverage comes into play. It’s recommended that you call your claims adjuster before you contract to have the tree removed.

Sometimes trees fall on cars. If it’s not safe or possible to remove the tree from the car yourself, you should call a professional to remove it. Depending on the damage and terms of your insurance coverage, the optional comprehensive coverage you may have under your auto policy could provide coverage for the loss.

 

PREVENTING TREE DAMAGE

Preventive measures matter when it comes to trees. Start by looking for signs of distress such as dead limbs, cracks in the trunk or major limbs, leaning to one side and branches that are close to a house or power line. Mushroom growth on the roots or bark can also signal trouble.

Homeowners should be concerned about the health of their trees. It’s possible for you to be held responsible for resulting damage to your neighbor’s house or property, if your tree falls due (in whole or part) to your own neglect.

If you have any further questions or concerns, give us a call!  We are happy to help!

One Year of Emerling Floss Murphy & Associates

Thursday, July 1st, 2021 marks the one-year anniversary of the “official” merge of Emerling Floss Murphy & Associates. This endeavor happened after six years of discussion, planning, and executing – yet we could have never planned on adding a pandemic into the mix when our merge came to fruition.

In an odd way, the timing was perfect. Let’s get all of our big challenges out of the way, early on, with the mix of the expected challenges that come with merging three insurance agencies into one. As we navigated the various bumps, it helped us clear our lanes of responsibility for each partner, and team within our organization, which resulted in our agency being even stronger than I could have ever imagined.

Already within our first year, our agency saw a lot of great achievements. In addition to business milestones, I am very proud of our Employee Community Relations Committee, which provided a budget and has complete autonomy to select hands-on projects for the community and our donations to charity. Additionally, they put together a team for Ride for Roswell, with a loft goal of raising $5,000. They supported the Clarence High School Prom with T-Shirts and Amazon Gift Cards, they put together personal hygiene kits for the Grigg Lewis Foundation. We also raised money to provide financial support for the YWCA of the Niagara Frontier.

We also had a lot of great additions and promotions within our EFM&A Team. Kellie George, a longtime member of Murphy Insurance became our Claims Specialist for the entire agency. We saw the retirement of Tina Schmidt while welcoming Tracey Ligammari to fill her shoes after completing an overseas deployment from the National Guard. Additionally, Jill Rich was promoted to our Personal Lines Team Leader, while also adding Ayana Graves as a Personal Lines Account Manager.

There were a lot of developments in our Commercial Lines Department. This included having Adam Kahabka join our team as a Business Development Associate, Mary Lu Hanna become a specialist for our Group Benefits program, and hiring Amanda Voit as a Group Benefits Account Manager. We also had major growth and development with EMS Wealth Management, where we hired Kelly Platt as a Client Relationship Manager.

Watching our team members from three different offices collaborate and grow together, especially through all of the challenges we faced during our first year has been the most rewarding part of the first year. We were even recognized by Buffalo Business First as one of the Best Places to Work, which again is reflective of our incredible team coming together and shaping our environment.

Now that we are a year in, I reflect on the words of the late Paul Barone, who was a true visionary and who played an important role in our founders’ group in providing great insight and vision for our merge. Paul stated, “1 + 1 + 1 = 6”. Our three agencies are definitely stronger together. The dynamic of the young innovative energy of our younger partners, with the experience, wisdom, and history of the founder partners have set up a great path for a long, bright future ahead.

I would like to thank our partners, our incredible team members, our families, and of course our incredible clients for your support, patience, encouragement, and loyalty during this past year. I am honored to be a leader of such an incredible organization, with talented, passionate, and hardworking people.
Year one of many years to come was certainly memorable, and I am looking forward to the future adventures ahead.

 

 

 

 

 

Joe Floss
President
Emerling Floss Murphy & Associates

EFM&A Welcomes Adam Kahabka

EFM&A is pleased to welcome Adam Kahabka as our new Business Development Associate!

Adam is a familiar face at EFM&A, as he worked for the Emerling Agency from 2013-2015 – and now he’s back!

Adam has his license in NY Property and Casualty.

Outside of work, he enjoys running, home projects, spending time with family and traveling.

Adam resides in Lancaster with his wife Molly, and his two children, Declan and Easton (and two dogs – Tripp and Domenik).

Welcome Adam to the EFM&A Family

EFM&A Welcomes Ayana Graves

EFM&A is pleased to welcome Ayana Graves as our new Personal Lines Account Manager.

Ayana will be overseeing the accounts that were previously serviced and managed by Jillian Rich. Jillian has been promoted to Personal Lines Team Leader, where she will be overseeing the entire Personal Lines Department.

Her favorite part about working in the insurance industry is helping people manage and protect their assets. Ayana currently resides in Amherst, NY with her husband Randy, and her two children, Carter and Maia.

Barb Schubring Celebrates 25 Years with Agency

Barb Schubring, a Commercial Lines Manager for Emerling Floss Mur[hy & Associates has recently celebrated 25 years of service with the agency, since her hiring at the Floss Agency back in 1996.

Barbara attended the Holy Angels Academy and Bryant and Stratton College for her formal education and now has her P&C Brokers License.

Barbara enjoys it when a client puts their faith in her to find the best and most affordable coverage for their business.

Joe Floss said, “Barb is an exceptional insurance professional who always does the right thing right for our clients.”
Congratulations, Barb and thank you for your incredible work as a member of the EFM&A family.

Time to Insure Your summer Recreational Vehicles

Spring in Western New York can be misleading. 70 degrees of sunshine can fall during the same week as a light snowfall. But regardless, Spring means it’s time to get your summer vehicles insured.

We can’t emphasize enough – there is no such thing as “just this one time,” when it comes to driving your vehicle without the proper insurance. It only takes one time for an accident or injury to happen – even during a quick run to “dust off the cobwebs.”

Your recreational vehicles can often be bundled with your every-day vehicles. Many recreational vehicles require separate licensing or safety courses to reduce insurance costs.

Information about recreational vehicle insurance, including the ability to request a quote can be found on our website – CLICK HERE!

EFM&A Welcomes Back Tracey Ligammari

Emerling Floss Murphy & Associates is pleased to formally introduce our new Personal Lines Account Manager, Tracey Ligammari. Tracey is fulfilling the position held by the recently retired, Tina Schmidt.

Tracey has been with Emerling Floss Murphy & Associates since June 2019 (originally hired by Floss Agency, Inc.). She is also a proud member of the New York Army National Guard, and recently returned to us after a year-long deployment overseas.

She has over 10 years of experience in personal lines insurance, including claims handling, and using her experience to help customers understand their coverage and feel comfortable with their insurance policies.

Tracey has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University at Buffalo, and an Associates’ degree in Military Intelligence.

Retirement of Tina Schmidt

After 45+ years in the insurance industry, and over 12 years with the Emerling Agency, LLC (and now the newly merged Emerling Floss Murphy & Associates), Tina Schmidt has retired.

Tina was a Personal Lines Account Manager and specialized in building customer relations. We thank Tina for her hard work and dedication to our team and clients over the years.

Her last day was on Thursday, February 25th.

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