Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Storm and Tree Damage in Maryland?

Every July and August, Montgomery County gets its share of violent afternoon thunderstorms — the kind that drop a mature oak across a driveway in Potomac or peel shingles off a roof in Damascus in under ten minutes. Longtime residents still talk about the 2012 derecho that left much of the county without power for days. When the winds die down, the question we get most at our Rockville office is simple: is this covered? The answer is usually yes, but the details — deductibles, tree removal limits, and a couple of major exclusions — decide whether a claim goes smoothly or turns into a bad surprise. Here is how storm damage actually works on a Maryland homeowners policy.

What a Standard Maryland Homeowners Policy Covers After a Storm

A standard HO-3 homeowners policy — the form most Maryland homeowners carry — covers your dwelling on an “open perils” basis, which means storm-related damage is covered unless it is specifically excluded. In practice, after a typical summer storm that includes:

• Wind damage — shingles torn off, siding ripped away, a fence flattened, a screened porch destroyed
• Hail damage — bruised or cracked shingles, dented gutters and siding, broken skylights
• Lightning — fire damage, plus damage to wiring and electronics from a direct strike
• Falling trees and limbs — damage to your house, garage, deck, or other structures when a tree comes down on them
• Rain entering through storm damage — interior water damage is covered when the storm first creates an opening (a hole in the roof, a smashed window)

That last point matters. Rain that gets in through a wind-damaged roof is covered. Rain that seeps in because the roof was already worn out is a maintenance issue, and carriers will deny it. This is one reason roof age has become the single biggest underwriting factor on Maryland home policies — something we cover in our guide to lowering your home insurance premium.

The Tree Rules: Who Pays When a Tree Falls

Tree claims generate more confusion than almost anything else we handle. The rules are counterintuitive but consistent:

• Your tree falls on your house: your policy pays for the house damage and a limited amount of tree removal, typically $500 to $1,000 per tree.
• Your neighbor's tree falls on your house: your policy still pays. Insurance follows the damaged property, not the tree's owner. Your carrier may pursue the neighbor only if the tree was visibly dead or they had been warned in writing.
• A tree falls in your yard and hits nothing: generally not covered. If it hit no insured structure, most policies pay little or nothing toward removal.
• A tree falls on your car: that is an auto claim under your comprehensive coverage, not your home policy — another reason we recommend keeping comprehensive on any vehicle parked under the mature canopy in neighborhoods like Silver Spring's older sections or along the tree-lined streets of Chevy Chase.

If your lot backs to parkland or you have large oaks and poplars near the house — common across Potomac and Darnestown — it is worth asking whether your policy offers increased debris removal limits. The endorsement is cheap; a crane-assisted removal of a 36-inch oak is not.

What Is Not Covered: The Two Big Gaps

1. Flood and surface water

No homeowners policy covers flood — rising water, storm surge, or rainwater flowing overland into your home. That includes the flash-flooding that hits low-lying areas near Rock Creek and Sligo Creek after heavy summer rain. Flood coverage is a separate policy through the NFIP or a private flood carrier, and there is typically a 30-day waiting period, so it cannot be bought when a storm is already on the radar. We break down who actually needs it in our Montgomery County flood insurance guide.

2. Water backup and sump pump failure

When a storm knocks out power and your sump pump stops — a familiar sequence for anyone in Gaithersburg or Germantown who has lost power in a July storm — the resulting basement water damage is excluded unless you carry a water backup endorsement. It usually costs $50 to $250 a year for $10,000 to $25,000 of coverage, and it is the endorsement we most often see missing from policies written elsewhere. If you have a finished basement, treat it as mandatory.

Understand Your Deductible Before the Storm, Not After

Most Maryland policies carry a flat deductible — commonly $1,000 to $2,500. But many carriers now apply a separate percentage deductible for wind and hail, typically 1% or 2% of your dwelling coverage. On a $600,000 dwelling limit — unremarkable for Bethesda or North Potomac — a 2% wind/hail deductible means you pay the first $12,000 of a roof claim yourself. Plenty of homeowners discover this on the phone after the storm. Check your declarations page now, and if the percentage deductible is steep, an independent agent can often find a carrier that offers a flat wind/hail deductible for a similar premium.

Five Things to Do Before the Next Storm Rolls Up I-270

1. Photograph your home and roof now. Pre-storm photos make wind and hail claims dramatically easier to document.
2. Have dead or leaning trees removed. A tree your carrier can prove was dead before the storm can turn a covered claim into a denied one.
3. Add battery backup to your sump pump and confirm you carry the water backup endorsement.
4. Review your wind/hail deductible and debris removal limits with your agent.
5. Store your policy and our claims contacts in your phone. After a widespread storm, claim volume spikes and the earliest, best-documented claims move fastest.

Filing a Storm Claim: How to Do It Right

Document everything before you touch anything — wide shots and close-ups. Make only the temporary repairs needed to prevent further damage (tarping a roof, boarding a window) and keep receipts; those costs are reimbursable. Get your own contractor estimate rather than relying solely on the carrier's adjuster, and be wary of storm-chasing roofers who canvass neighborhoods after big weather. If damage is close to your deductible, call us before filing — a claim that pays little or nothing can still affect your rate for years. As an independent agency working with a dozen carriers, we see how each one actually handles storm claims across Maryland, DC, and Northern Virginia — from Olney to Arlington — and that experience feeds into which carriers we recommend in the first place.