Just saw this post from 6 years ago, but wondered what the end result was. I am having a similar situation with a neighbor accidentally accelerating backwards in her car, up our slope, and breaking off about half of a multi-trunked 12 - 14 foot Chinese “saucer” magnolia that we planted 30 years ago. It was actually the only tree we’ve planted in our front yard, was gorgeous, and is in a prime spot.
We’ve only found one source so far with a like tree in a 48” inch box, and it’s still a few feet shorter and several feet narrower. The nursery rep who helped us locate the tree said the tree alone costs an estimated $3200, plus delivery from central to southern CA, and installation with a crane. He is still looking into those additional costs for us but it sounds like it could be five or six thousand dollars total.
So far, it looks like the neighbor’s liability insurance will pay for this, but we contacted our insurance company just to get more information. We did learn that if we use our homeowner’s insurance, we would have to pay a $500 deductible that would, hopefully, get reimbursed through the neighbor’s insurance. However, our insurance company only pays up to $500 for damages to plants, so they treat plants very differently from structures and injuries. So, we decided not to file a claim with them, plus I don’t know if that counts against us in terms of claims filed.
Thanks for any information you or anyone else reading can provide!
