What to Do if Someone Hits Your Fence and You Have Home Insurance
Get the driver's insurance information and file with their auto insurer. Your home policy can cover the fence if they can't pay.
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If a driver knocked down your fence
A fence hit by a car is first the driver's problem. If you have their name, insurance, and license plate, filing with their auto liability coverage usually gets the fence rebuilt without touching your own policy. If they fled, aren't insured, or their insurer denies the claim, your home policy steps in under the coverage for other structures, the part of your policy that handles fences, detached garages, and sheds. That coverage is a set dollar amount listed on your declarations page, separate from the coverage on the house itself. You'd pay your deductible, and your insurer may pursue the driver afterward to recover what it paid. A police report helps either way, especially if the driver is unknown or disputes what happened.
Compare what a claim would actually cost you
If your policy ends up paying for the fence, your deductible and your other structures limit both matter. Checking other quotes now means you know your options before the next renewal.
How the payout for the fence gets figured
If your home policy ends up paying, the adjuster figures the payout based on what it costs to rebuild the fence, not what a buyer would pay for your property with it standing. Most policies pay this out as actual cash value first, meaning the rebuild cost minus depreciation for the fence's age and condition. A ten-year-old wood fence won't be paid out at the price of a new one. Some policies include replacement cost coverage on other structures, which pays the full rebuild cost without that deduction. Your declarations page or the other structures section of your policy will say which one applies to you.
If the adjuster's estimate feels low, ask how they arrived at the number. Request the itemized estimate, not just the total. Fencing materials, linear footage, and labor rates vary by contractor, and an adjuster working from a general pricing model may not have the actual cost for your type of fence or your area. Getting one or two contractor quotes of your own gives you something concrete to compare against theirs. If the gap is real and documented, send the adjuster your numbers and ask for a reconsideration before accepting the offer.
A denial is different from a low offer, and the reason matters. If your insurer denies the claim outright, the letter should state why. Common reasons include a policy exclusion, a dispute over whether the damage matches what's claimed, or a finding that another party's insurance should pay first. Read the denial against your actual policy language, not just the summary in the letter. If the stated reason doesn't match what your policy says, that's worth raising directly with the insurer in writing, laying out the discrepancy and asking for a reversal.
If the disagreement doesn't resolve through the adjuster, most policies include an appraisal clause, a process where each side hires an independent appraiser and the two resolve the dollar amount, sometimes with a third umpire breaking a tie. This applies to disputes over the amount of damage, not whether the claim is covered at all. Your state's department of insurance is also a resource if you believe the insurer is handling the claim unfairly, and filing a complaint there costs nothing and creates a record. Keep copies of every estimate, photo, and letter from the start, since a thin paper trail is the main thing that slows these disputes down.
What if the driver's insurer and your insurer disagree on who pays
Sometimes both insurers look at the same facts and both decline to pay first. The driver's insurer may argue liability hasn't been established, especially if there's no police report or the driver disputes what happened. Your own insurer may point to the other structures coverage as a backstop and tell you to exhaust the driver's policy first. You're left in the middle while the fence sits broken.
In that situation, filing with your own home policy under other structures coverage is still an option, even while the liability question with the driver is unresolved. You pay your deductible, the fence gets fixed, and your insurer takes on the job of recovering the cost from the driver or their insurer afterward. This is called subrogation. It's a normal part of how insurers handle this kind of loss, and it moves the burden of chasing the other side off of you and onto them. If they succeed, some policies refund your deductible once the recovery comes through, so it's worth asking your insurer directly whether that applies to yours.
Using your own coverage this way doesn't mean giving up on the driver being at fault. The police report, photos of the damage, and the driver's information all stay relevant, because your insurer will use them to pursue reimbursement. Keep your own copies of everything you gave to either insurer, including dates and names of who you spoke with. If subrogation succeeds months later, that record is what connects the refund back to your claim.
One thing worth checking before you file anywhere is whether a claim against your own policy affects your premium at renewal, even when the damage wasn't your fault. Some insurers treat subrogated claims differently from ones where you were at fault, since the cost is ultimately recovered, but this varies by insurer and state. Your agent or the claims representative can tell you how your specific policy treats it. That answer, along with your deductible and other structures limit, is part of what to weigh when deciding whether to file through your own policy at all or wait longer on the driver's insurer.
Before you file anything
Find your other structures limit and deductible on your declarations page. Knowing both numbers now tells you whether filing through your own policy makes sense if the driver's insurer stalls or denies.
