Tree Safety: What Kind Of Insurance Should Professional Tree Services in Texas Have?

What’s the number one thing you fear about tree removal? Unfortunate mishaps or accidents! And to prevent that, proper insurance is a must - not any insurance but tree service insurance.

But among so many different types of insurances, what insurance should a tree service company have?

To answer it in brief, professional tree service in Texas must have these two significant insurances – general liability insurance and worker’s compensation insurance. 

 

Let's explore these two insurances and know what damages they cover. But before everything, we must understand why insurance is crucial when hiring professional tree service in Texas.

Tree Works Are Dangerous 

It's pretty apparent that tree works are dangerous, particularly for those who do not have the right equipment, training, and experience to do the work safely and properly. All the tree work involves working on height which is affected by dangerous tools, heavy objects, unpredictable events, and some other factors. You can increase the safety factor by hiring insured tree service in Texas or certified arborists. 

Landscapers, also known as “tree guys,” often work on dangerous tasks that certified arborists are trained to perform - but they lack technical training and knowledge to undertake the tree work safely. Added to that, they neither have the experience nor the same level of insurance with them.

All these put you at greater risk – there are higher chances of something going wrong and even more odds of you being held responsible in case of any damage or injuries.

What Kind of Insurance Should a Tree Service Have?

Insurance coverage for tree work is probably not the first thing we think about when hiring someone to remove, maintain, prune or treat trees at our property. But arguably, that is an essential factor to be taken into consideration.

When searching for a tree specialist near me, you should not only check the company’s references, credentials, and experience – but should also look for the insurance coverage of the company.  

People mostly opt for the tree service near me that is the cheapest or hire some “tree guy” carrying a chainsaw and a pickup truck - with no technical training, experience or insurance.

But what happens if the tree or branch falls on a person or a structure during or after work? Or what if someone falls and gets injured. 

The outcome of the incident will depend on the type of insurance coverage the person or company who is doing the work holds. Therefore hiring insured tree service in Texas is imperative!

Here are the two types of tree service insurance you need to know about before hiring someone to do tree work on your property. 

GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE

While it is called “general” liability insurance, the type of work covered under this policy is extremely specific. 

The insurance policy of someone performing tree work must precisely cover tree work. If not, any damage or injury that arises on your property from tree work will not be covered. 

There are different general liability insurance policies for landscapers. These insurances provide coverage for the work done on the ground or about 8-10 feet above it. If a person climbs up over 10 feet to work on a tree (or just climbs on a ladder to cut a branch), it will not be covered by their insurance. You may also be held liable for any damage, medical bills, injury, etc. 

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION INSURANCE

Like general liability insurance, in order to be valid, workers’ compensation insurance must mainly cover tree work (not only landscaping or similar work).

While many companies claim to be fully covered with worker’s compensation insurance, they may not always have coverage for the tree work. 

Given the nature of work, tree work is extremely expensive. In order to cut their costs, some companies who perform tree work choose to categorize themselves as landscapers (or entirely forgo the worker’s compensation). Then they pass their cost savings in the form of lower prices for tree work. But don’t get trapped in this – they are only passing more risk on to you. 

If there is no right type of worker’s compensation coverage, the owner of the business will be legally required to pay for the work injuries of themselves and their crew members. But what if they can’t or won’t? As the property owner, you’ll be on the hook as you are responsible for hiring the company. 

Although you can sue the company to recover the damages, you’ll still be held responsible for paying for the medical bills and lost wages of the injured person, including other costs associated with the injury, until the case is dismissed or settled. 

About Our Company 

Our company Branch Specialists Texas provides the best solutions and services to neaten up and preserve all your trees and garden. With several years of experience and a number of satisfied customers, we are grateful to be the best tree service in Texas. All of our experience helps us solve daily challenges in our field, and with the assistance of advanced technology, we give the best results to our customers to ensure complete contentment for them. 

Our staff has a licensed tree removal service with qualified employers who give their 100% on every single project they handle. Contact us to get the best services in Texas, NY.