A tree through a roof is two emergencies in one: a structural one and a water one. The structure has been loaded in a way it was not designed for, and the building envelope is open to the weather, usually in the weather that brought the tree down. What you do in the first hours is about safety and about stopping the second loss, and the tree itself is rarely the urgent part.
Tree falls on house: the first hour
Get everyone out and stay out, including from rooms below the impact, because a loaded structure can fail later rather than immediately. Do not attempt to move the tree. Assume every downed line near it is live and keep well clear; call the utility rather than the tree service. Turn off power at the main only if the panel is dry and reachable safely. Then call the emergency number on your policy, because tarping and shoring are covered emergency work and the carrier can often mobilise it faster than you can.
Making it safe and stopping further weather damage
The sequence is stabilise, then remove, then dry, then rebuild. Shoring supports what is loaded, a tarp or emergency roof covering keeps the rain out, and boarding closes openings at ground level. This is the part that decides how much of the interior survives, because an open roof in a storm puts water through every floor below it within hours. Our work is the tarp, the board up, the drying and the interior; the roof itself is a roofer's trade, and a good emergency crew will say so.
A tree falling on house structure: who removes it, and who pays
Removal from the structure is normally part of the claim where the tree hit a covered structure, and most policies cover removal up to a limit, with the remainder of the tree on the ground treated differently. Whose tree it was matters less than people expect: a healthy tree brought down by a storm is generally an act of nature and each owner claims on their own policy, while a tree that was visibly dead or diseased and was reported can raise a negligence question. Photograph the tree at the trunk as well as at the roof.
The claim, and the part people forget
Photograph everything before anything is moved, including inside the rooms below the impact. Keep receipts for emergency work from the first hour. Ask the adjuster to scope the water damage as well as the impact damage, because on this loss the water usually travels further than the tree did and is routinely under scoped. And read the deductible: many coastal and high wind policies apply a separate named storm deductible when the weather that brought the tree down meets the trigger.
Questions people ask about what to do if a tree falls on your house
What do I do first if a tree falls on my house?
Get everyone out, stay clear of any downed lines and call the utility, do not move the tree, and call the emergency number on your policy so tarping and shoring can start.
Does insurance cover a tree falling on a house?
Damage to a covered structure from a fallen tree is generally covered, including removal up to a limit. The tree lying on the ground afterwards is often treated differently.
My neighbour's tree fell on my house. Whose claim is it?
Usually yours, on your own policy, where a healthy tree came down in a storm. A tree that was visibly dead or diseased and had been reported can raise a separate negligence question.
Who fixes the roof?
A roofer. The emergency tarp, the board up, the drying and the interior work are restoration; the roof covering itself is a separate trade and should be quoted as one.
Who removes a tree fallen on house roofs?
A tree crew lifts it and a restoration crew makes the building safe, and on most claims they are two invoices. The removal is normally covered where the tree hit the structure, and the tidy up of a tree that missed usually is not.