It’s true, they do hate that big tree on your property. In the past few years, ever since the Derecho, Insurance companies have been getting killed with claims in the Midwest. So much damage. Storm after storm, they keep coming and keep destroying property. Some companies have left the state of Iowa altogether! Others fight claims that they should pay, trying anything to get out of it. Using every excuse in the book to explain why this or that is not covered. And, ya cant blame them, your supposed to pay them and never have a claim. That’s what they want! Instead, they keep getting hit with storm damage claims, over and over and over. They are going broke replacing your roof, siding, paying to remove that big giant tree off of your house. A large tree coming down onto a home can cause catastrophic damage, and that could have been prevented. Too many trees go unattended. People always wait till they absolutely have too, to remove a tree. They see the large tree in decline and say ” I need to get that taken care of” and then walk in the house, then the tree is completely dead, they look at it and say “I really should get that taken care of” and then again, walk in the house. No one wants to spend that kind of money, I mean, what do you get out if! Nothing tangible. What about peace of mind? Well, the average homeowner looks up and sees the toasty dead giant tree and then all of a sudden, it is a issue. See the homeowner got a letter in the mail that made it a priority.
What is happening now is the insurance companies are using Google Earth to look at the property’s of their covered clients. If they see large trees either over the house or close enough to hit it, they send a inspector out, many times, with no knowledge of trees and their health. They will see a big giant tree and instantly see risk. They are not wrong, even a perfectly healthy tree, that would otherwise last another 50 years can be destroyed in seconds in a high wind event. Then, the homeowner gets a letter telling them to remove the tree or they will loose their homeowner’s coverage! Yes, they do and yes, they can. I have already removed several trees because a insurance company has sent a letter basically stating “Loose the tree or LOOSE YOUR INSURANCE”
As I said before, no one wants to spend thousands of dollars have tree work done. That could be a new fridge, new pool, new TV! So then, the people get the letter and they start looking for a tree guy. This is where is gets bad. Instead looking for a Pro Arborist they would rather find Tree Bubba Hack. Instead of paying a experienced 30 year veteran Arborist like myself, one who can prove his skill and his record ( no loss time accidents…EVER!) . They look for the cheapest guy they can find. So then they hire the super cheap and unskilled Tree Bubba Hack guy. He just barley understands gravity and has his buddies saw. See normally he does roofs, or concrete, or decks, or fences. But today, he is a tree guy. Instead of properly removing the tree, he checks the wind with his finger and he lets it rip. Then things go real bad. The tree goes over backwards, hits the house anyway. Well, guess what, Bubba Tree guy does not have insurance. That piece of paper was fake. So then they call their insurance to tell them what happened. They then tell them a big NO! That you should have done your due diligence and hire a pro. That they are negligent and they will not cover the damage done by they tree they wanted removed….so it would not damage the house! I told ya, they hate trees!
If you get one of these letters and gotta hire a tree guy, make sure they have their own insurance. CALL THE COMPANY THEY CLAIM TO BE COVERED BY! This is very important as many times, a homeowner accepts a fake insurance cert as proof. They don’t ask the city or for references. They don’t make the tree guy explain in detail how they planning on doing it. All they see is the cheap price and hey, maybe it will be worth the risk! I like saving money when I can. But there are somethings that you should not just consider price. Tree work is super dangerous. For both people and property. You can go on you tube and search tree accidents and there are hundreds of videos of trees crushing houses. Pick the guy that you have confidence that your house will still be standing when the tree is gone. You used to be able to just go “I’m covered” That will soon be a thing of the past. Hire a vetted verified pro, check his credentials. CHECK HIS INSURANCE and then, most likely, you wont loose yours.
If you do get a letter and have to remove a tree, remember, plant a new one! It will be a long time before your insurance company hates that one too!