buying tree service insurance

[treeman]

--go to an independent insurance company. speak with an agent. they can sell you insurance from many different companies, and can shop around for you.

--try to be honest on the application. if you are not the insurance company might not pay a claim, if they find the discrepancy when you need them to cover a loss. also some deception can be considered fraud and thus local state laws and federal laws could hurt you financially and criminally .

--most basic 500,000.00 dollar insurance policies for general liability for a year, are about 600 to 1,000 dollars. depends on the history of your business, prior claims and your credit history, and the company and policy you chose. I recommend you to buy as much insurance as you can afford.

--be careful many insurance companies will charge you more every year. therefore every few years you might need to shop around for another company/policy.

 

[DELETED (Struggle)]

I can vouch for insurance companies raising rates. They have tried twice to raise mine with no claims. my insurance agent has went to bat for me both times and they kept price the same after the agent dealt with them telling them he will go else where if they raise my rates.

 

[Definitive Dave]

In Ohio you have to prove you have asked for quotes from 5 different in state insurers and found they don't offer tree insurance then fill out a form and have it notarized and turned in to the state before you can purchase tree insurance from an out of state insurer (who are always cheaper for the same coverage), you have to do the form thing every year when you renew as well. Million dollar minimum for Ohio when I signed up a few years back and your premium is based on direct tree related revenue from the previous year with an annual insurance audit that coverts payroll, and customer invoices. Only covers tree work done 15' above grade and is required for all such work. Mine came out last year to $23.00 per manhour spent onsite. And goes up every year even if tree revenue goes down.

yeargh
Dave

 

[woodchipper95]

Is there an average dollar figure per month for $500,000 basic liability. (I live in a rural Pa setting if that helps) Just on ground tree work no climbing?

 

[cus_deluxe]

Bump, would love to hear some more input from some pros on this stuff. Great topic!

 

[GCJenks204]

Mine came out last year to $23.00 per manhour spent onsite

Yikes is all I can say to that. Is that general liability or does it include personnel injury as well? Do you have addition workers comp or OSHA fees on top of that? I can't imagine what the quote to a home owner would look like. Makes you realize why so many hacks are running around everywhere you look.

 

[Definitive Dave]

Yikes is all I can say to that. Is that general liability or does it include personnel injury as well? Do you have addition workers comp or OSHA fees on top of that? I can't imagine what the quote to a home owner would look like. Makes you realize why so many hacks are running around everywhere you look.

Workers comp is additional, the tree insurance was for any work requiring someone to be 1' or more above the ground.
Covers what my 1 million liability and 1 million ballon and workers compensation policies didn't cover.
We cancelled it in January just didn't do enough tree work last year to justifying.
Insurance audit was total man hours on \the site even though only one guy is in the tree
Crazy, and then you see guys in a tree with a harbor freight 18" popular hanging from an old sock with no safety gear.

 

[DELETED (Struggle)]

It's going to get worse with ash borer as many people with a saw will be a tree service over night with no insurance.


Sent from somewhere

 

[woodchipper95]

Reason I ask, I want to finish paying for college and I'd like to buy a splitter. I started doing easy felling jobs just from the ground. I realized how much people pay to have more difficult trees taken down. Even easy ones are a pretty penny. I'm thinking about caring insurance in a couple years. Probably still won't do much climbing.

 

[KenJax Tree]

People don't care about insurance and nice equipment anymore, it all about cheap.

Why would they pay us $2500 for a removal when they can pay some illegal immigrants with a Wildthing and pickup truck to do it for a couple hundred.

All you can do is smile when you drive by a month later and see the work not completed, and the mess or damage left behind.

 

[DELETED (Struggle)]

This sounds like a job for James the narcoleptic tree trimmer. Had to bring on down!


Sent from somewhere

 

[Normzilla]

So what companies offer a policy for general tree work? Trying to find one. But they want to know when a tree is climbed, a stump,ground, a tree felled. Call8my it specialty and as ons, instead of a blanket coverage. Wth? Seems a rip off, any ideas? Thanks Norm....