Insurance BS

ginkobalboa

ginkobalboa

Location
above the KY rhizosphere
Today my parents got a letter in the mail saying their leaning White Pine needs to be trimmed within 45 days or their HO insurance will be canceled. Literally, all it says is "Leaning tree must be trimmed." Only one sentence! No more detail than that. This inspector from the insurance company was there to look at the new roof which was required as a condition of coverage, not the tree!

The tree is about 30" dbh and is in the rear corner of their yard. Only possible target is the neighbor's fence. It is leaning to get to the sun. I'm thinking I'll take a couple branches off the bottom and call it trimmed.

Have these insurance inspectors even heard of A.300?
 
I have heard of this before. My dentist called me saying that his insurance company said the same thing about two Plain trees in his front yard. Two young Plains with little to no dead in it and no over extended leads. I told him there was nothing to really to do in it that would benefit the tree in any way. So he challenged it and made out with not having to touch them.
 
I had the same thing happen when I switched insurance company's, they came out and inspected my property and said I had to trim my white pine away from my roof or they wood cancel the policy.
 
I have gotten numerous jobs resulting from this exact situation. Usually they are a result of an insurance inspection prior to a real estate closing in which there is an obvious hazard to the covered structure. More often than not, the risk is legitimate, although there have been times when it was questionable at best. It seems that the insurance companies have discovered yet another way to mitigate their risk.
 
I have gotten plenty of jobs this way too. Usually it is because limbs are touching the house. My parents Pine isn't even close to the house. The only risk would be the neighbor's fence which isn't my parent's insurance company's risk anyhow! But what really pisses me off is that their "condition" of coverage is the one sentence saying, "trim the tree." (I should have mentioned before, there is no deadwood in it, maybe a few small stubs.) How can they make something with no more detail than that a condition of coverage? Because we all know one companies idea of how the tree needs to be trimmed will be different from another. Joe Schmo might say top it and company B might say elevate the canopy. Either way, the tree is trimmed.
 
I've got it from limbs touching houses, too. I've also had insurance requests for pruning of random trees that don't need it at all. I always ask to see what the paperwork looks like from the insurance company and it's the same thing practically every time. "Trim tree." No details- nothing.

A few times I've called the inspector, explained the situation and they've been cool with an email saying the tree was looked at by a certified arborist.

A few times they say they didn't care what it was but the tree HAD to be trimmed. That IS absolute BS. So I look at the tree and say, "what can I do to make a noticeable impact without F-ing up this tree."

Usually it's raising lower limbs or light reduction pruning and not much else.

The title of this tread explains itself.

love
nick
 
Maybe a dumb question - but who pays for the cost of the job? If its the insurance company requiring it, I would say the bill goes to them.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Maybe a dumb question - but who pays for the cost of the job? If its the insurance company requiring it, I would say the bill goes to them.

[/ QUOTE ]

That would be nice, but no. This will be coming out of my parents pocket. But actually, they won't be paying anything because I'll be doing the job for them.

I started this thread to begin a discussion about how the insurance industry affects this industry. I know we all get a lot of work from it, but how much of it is really necessary? Why don't they hire Certified Arborists or even better, Certified Tree Risk Assessors to do their tree risk assessments? Why should some general risk assessor be able to condemn trees?
 
Remember, the insurance guys are practicing outside their area of expertise when they pass judgement on a tree. If the tree owner is a fan of proper tree care and is opposed to arbitrary pruning or removal, this can be a good opportunity to sell them on a fee paid, and totally objective risk assessment of the tree. If you're able to show that you've undergone training in tree risk assessment, and have errors & omissions coverage to back up your thorough inspection and professional assessment of the tree, the insurance company should be happy to act appropriately on your findings.

I know several of my colleagues here in Florida have, at the behest of their clients, countered these letters, when appropriate, with their own reports. In all cases, the insurance companies retracted their requests.
 
Yep, insurance jobs like this come up. We've done several but all have been legitimate. The problem is the heavy handedness. "Do it or we cancel your policy" oh and btw, you pay for it too.



In this case, it sounds like you could challenge this.
 
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