Will this claim increase policy cost? Is it worth it?

Our wood fence & plantings ( 6 - 18 year old mature shrubs) were destroyed. I called the police & made a report. I found out (after the fact) that the neighbor (he's renting to own) had done the damage. The fence was on the lot line dividing our two properties.

He said he didn't know it was our fence etc. The actual owner told him he didn't know whose fence it was, do what he wanted. If I put in an insurance claim for a replacement fence & the value of the 6 shrubs (I don't know how you put a value on 18 year old plants). Will my insurance premiums increase because of this??? Will Farmers go after the other guys insurance (like they do in auto claims) and still increase my policy costs??

My last claim (very small) was over 10 years ago.

Thank you.

No one can really answer the question if the cost of your insurance will go up except your insurance company. Anyone answering this would mearly be giving a guess. Should they go up.... no, will they ?.

The question that you have to ask, is it worth it to turn in a claim. Most homeowner's policies have limits on trees and bushes if they are covered at all. If there is coverage, it may be limited to $500.00 per bush/tree including tear out and disposal. As for your fence, some policies will only cover these at ACV actual cash value, meaning the value of the fence on the day that it was damaged if it is a total loss. You could be looking at a 15 to 50% deduction of your claim depending on the age, make up, and condition of the fence prior to the damage.

You need to have these two questions answered and then compare the bottom line to your deductible to see what your bottom line is. If the bottom line pay out is going to be something that you can cover with your own funds, then most of the time it is best to take care of it without your insurance. If you do proceed, yes your insurance company will pursue the neighbor to collect any amount paid out, or at least a portion of it.

Your best bet would to pursue the owner of the house and your neighbor, since they are the ones who caused the damage or own the property. Let their insurance respond to it, or they themselves can respond to it. They should have never destroyed the fence and bushes if they did not know who they belonged to. Them not knowing is not a defense.

Another thing to keep in mind is that some policies exclude fences, while others might consider them "separate structures" and cover them under coverage B. I am not really sure with Farmers, since I no longer work for them...YAY! I would agree mostly with the previous post...go after the neighbor. It should be an easy win in court, as long as you can prove he did it. If you do claim it, my guess is that your premiums will increase. Many homeowners policies have a "claims free discount" that considers the previous 5 years. It does not matter how large the claim in most cases, especially with a home policy. Why pay more for 5 years cuz some asshole wrecked your fence and plants? Go after him, it sucks...but it is your best option.