common ground issue

Andrew...unless you can prove that the tree was diseased and compromised and the association should have known that and removed it prior in my humble opinion this falls under the "act of God" provision in insurance policies and each person is on their own to fix their own damages.

Case in point we had really bad windstorm/mini tornado whip through our neighborhood this past spring and part of my neighbors fence went through another neighbor's front window causing a lot of damage. Each person repaired their own property with their own policies.

I had this happen in our HOA. My last week as president matter of fact...A tree fell from 1 yard across a fence and into the roof the house next door. The tree had a bug infestation and just cracked when it thawed out quickly. The tree was on "common property". Unfornately, that owner did not have insurance. The other owner did have insurance. The HOA had insurance as well.

It ended up that the HOA paid for the actual CLEAN up of the tree debris. We didn't pay for the actual home damages or the fence. That is because the HOA doesn't own the fence but only approves it's installation. The owner's insurance covered the actual damages to the house. The one that wasn't covered by insurance had to handle their own repairs. The other homeowner's insurance went after them for payment.

I'd call your insurance company to find out their limits. Ours was just for clean up of the actual debris of the tree and removal. Others may cover more. Know your limits and if you need to increase them.