Affordable Tree Service Insurance for Tree Trimmers

tree trimmer insurance

If you own a tree trimming service, it’s critical to protect it. You invest a great deal into your safety – no matter how big or complex the project is. You’re there for your clients when the storms hit and they need help fast. You understand the importance of providing exceptional service to ease the fears of your property owners.

At Balsiger Insurance, we do the same to protect your business. Our business insurance is designed to provide comprehensive protection to you no matter how small or large your company is. We’ll be there as you grow it and through the tough times.

Why Tree Service Insurance Is Critical

All business owners face risks. With tree service companies, those risks are significant. You take steps every day to minimize those risks, but in some cases they can happen. With proper business insurance, you don’t have to worry about the outcome. You’ll have the tree service insurance coverage you need to protect your assets and cover your liabilities.

We provide our clients with a customized general liability policy. It addresses your specific needs, fits your budget, and flexes with your business as you need it. It’s always customized to include the coverages most important to you with tree service insurance cost in mind.

What Coverage should a Business Insurance Policy Include?

Tree trimmer insurance combines a number of individual business insurance coverage to help protect your tree service business. That includes the following.

General Liability Insurance

For most tree service businesses, liability risks are the most significant concern. Liability insurance covers damage you or your employees cause to another person’s property. It’s critical to have proper business insurance in place to manage the risk of a single accident shuttering your company.

General liability insurance is a broad and solid policy that protects protection for most types of accidents. This can work to minimize risks associated with hazards of the tree service business including falling tree branches, damage to a customer’s property, and much more. The policy will specify the specific types of accidents and events it covers.

General liability can cover:

Premises liability claims – This component of your business insurance policy covers damage that happen at your physical location (your office or shop).

Completed operations – Once a project is finished, there’s still some risk to the customer. When legal problems or other claims occur, this business insurance coverage offers financial protection. If a customer feels you provided inferior service at their job site and that caused financial loss to them, you may be held accountable for those losses. This component of your policy can cover the damages as well as litigation costs and customer settlements. For example, if you completed a job and three weeks later a branch at the job site that was only partially trimmed fell and injured someone you would have coverage.

Product liability – Companies that sell products may need this type of service. Some tree trimmers, for example, may sell supplies to customers. You may sell treatments for trees or pest management solutions. If you sell any type of product, it could cause damage to another person. Product liability insurance helps take care of those claims.

General liability insurance is designed to meet the risks you have. The amount of business insurance coverage you select for your tree trimmers needs to match area risks, previous claims filed against you, the amount and type of work you do, and industry standards. This insurance can range from $300,000 of coverage up to $1,000,000 or more. Let our team help you navigate the best choice for your situation.

General liability can provide incredible protection that’s far reaching for business owners. It may help with:

Homeowners tripping over fallen branches
Damage to fences, sheds, homes, and other structures from the services you provide
Medical payments to cover injuries property owners have
Advertising harm if an ad you place is too close to another company’s
Support for claims of inferior service

Extend Your Liability Insurance with an Umbrella Policy

There are many risks that can occur during the average day for tree service businesses. In every situation, it is up to you to ensure you have proper insurance in place to cover those losses. Umbrella insurance is a larger liability insurance plan that covers all types of liability claims made against your business. It can help you with the damages and claims from a covered incident are higher than the existing limit on your liability policy.

A single injury claim can be costly – amounting in thousands of dollars of loss. With umbrella insurance, you have added protection in place to pick up those losses up to this new limit.

Business Owners Policy (BOP)

Tree trimmers need to protect more than just their business’s liability risks. BOP helps you to cover most of your other risks. It includes protection for your assets – from the pruning tools you use to the highest-powered chainsaws you invested in. It can also provide far more protection to minimize risks associated with just operating your tree service business.

Most tree service companies need to have protection like this. It is comprehensive enough to meet most needs and flexible enough to remain affordable for your company. BOP is also customizable. Our team will work with you to ensure you get the right type and amount of insurance coverage for your needs.

Business Property coverage is available for:

Building and contents – If you operate your business out of a building that you own, you need protection from theft, storms, and vandalism. Building if you own and business equipment coverage whether you own or rent, is critical to maintain to minimize financial loss in the event of a claim. It covers the structure itself and the contents within your business.
Equipment coverage – You own a number of pieces of equipment used in the management of your tree service business. This includes your tools of the trade and computers you use to track your business’s success. You have numerous business furnishings, inventory of supplies you use, and other materials. These valuable assets require coverage in case of theft or loss. Any equipment that goes off premise will be covered under an Inland Marine policy which is similar to the above business property coverage other than it adds coverage for off of your premise. Under the Inland Marine you can also include coverage for any equipment that you might rent from a third party.

Business income coverage – In some situations, you may be unable to operate your business due to a covered claim. When you cannot do so, business income insurance can help to fill in some of those gaps so you do not miss payments to vendors or lenders. If a fire destroys your company’s office, and you cannot work until it is fixed, this coverage may help. This coverage is not available in all cases due to recent developments. It is important to have the conversation about the availability and need for it.

The property and general liability insurance for tree trimming companies can be customized to fit your needs including based on valuable and specific high-valued items. It may help in situations such as:

Paperwork and documentation is lost in a fire
Your outdoor sign is struck by lightning and falls
A fire breaks out in your storage shed where your equipment is located
A theft happens and your business computers are stolen
You need to rent a space to operate your business until repairs are made

Workers Compensation Insurance for Tree Services

Protecting your business from risk also means keeping your employees safe. A comprehensive workers compensation policy is necessary for all tree trimming businesses that have benefits. Even if not required by the state we recommend you have it if you have employees, it provides financial protection from some of the most costly claims – worker injury. Your industry is considered high risk and the markets are limited. It is very important to work with a broker that has access to these limited markets.

In the tree trimming business, you do everything you can to keep safety top of mind. You follow all OSHA rules. You invest in the latest safety technology. Yet, accidents can happen. When they do, you need to know there is financial help available to you. Workers compensation insurance helps cover the medical expenses and other losses employees have when they are hurt on the job.

Workers compensation insurance usually covers:

Employee injury – If an employee is hurt on the job, whether due to a cutting accident or a trip and fall, they have the legal right to see medical care. Workers’ compensation can help cover employee medical expenses and lost time at work due to injury.
Employee legal claims – If an employee is hurt at work and files a lawsuit against you, your workers’ compensation coverage can help provide some legal defense and support for you. It may cover the settlement, if awarded to the individual, as well.
Long-term care needs – If an employee suffers permanent damage or a tragedy strikes and death occurs, your workers’ compensation coverage helps pay for those losses. This includes any settlements filed against your company as a result.

Workers compensation coverage for tree trimming services is critical because of the risks of the job. Your team is using high-powered equipment. Even with safety equipment and proper training, they may suffer injuries that you cannot prevent. Tree service insurance policies help minimize the costs you have to pay out of pocket for those losses. Think of the tree service insurance cost as a peace of mind expense.

This can help in situations such as:

A worker falls from a high position on a tree at a job site suffering brain injury
An employee trips on a branch on the ground, breaking a leg
Employees fail to follow safety guidelines and suffer cuts
An employee becomes ill on the job and needs time off
An injured worker needs rehab due to an onsite injury

Commercial Auto Insurance

Tree trimming services often have numerous vehicles. Even if you have just one, it is important to have a commercial auto insurance policy in place. This type of policy is designed to protect the vehicle from risks while also minimizing liability risks when accidents occur. To operate the vehicle on roadways, you must show proof of financial responsibility. Commercial auto insurance can do that for you and is separate from your personal auto insurance policy. A personal auto policy only covers your personal auto and not a commercial one.

This insurance can apply to all types of vehicles you use during the course of business. That includes the pickups you use to haul away material, the bucket trucks you use for high trees, and the trailers you use to pull your equipment in. A customized policy should fit the value of your vehicles. You may also benefit from a commercial property insurance policy that covers the property in which you store your vehicles. Commercial property insurance will cover any property damage in the event of natural disaster or theft.

Commercial auto insurance usually covers:

Liability insurance – Liability insurance covers property damage you cause to another person’s vehicle or person in a vehicle accident. It is a legal requirement in most states to maintain coverage. It works just to protect other drivers and property owners from property damage.
Collision insurance – If your vehicle is in an accident that the driver causes, this policy helps cover the repair costs. It can help cover replacement if your vehicle is a total loss.
Comprehensive insurance – This policy covers risks associated with non-accidents. That may include vandalism, theft, and fires. It can help to cover falling debris damage as well.
Medical payments coverage – You can elect to purchase medical payments coverage to help cover your medical bills or those of your employee operating the vehicle if there’s an accident.
Uninsured/underinsured motorist – This type of insurance covers property damage you suffer as a result of another driver’s negligence when that driver does not have any or not enough liability insurance to cover your losses.

Finding the Right Balance of Coverage for Your Needs

Protecting your business is critical. Let our team do the hard work for you. We provide you with:

Insight into the right type of tree service insurance for tree service companies.
Coverage that’s built to meet your needs including the right amount of protection for the size and scope of your company
Affordable coverage that’s designed to enhance your business’s growth

When you work with an insurance agent from Balsiger Insurance, you’ll learn about your options in tree service insurance including getting a free, no obligation quote for your company. Let’s talk about your assets and risks. We’ll create a policy that’s designed just for your company. We offer everything including tree service insurance, general liability insurance, business insurance, commercial property insurance, personal auto insurance policy, professional liability insurance, general liability coverage, property damage coverage, inland marine insurance, property insurance, tree removal insurance, product liability insurance and more. You can get to work without worry with the right coverage in place.

Learn More & Get Free Insurance Quotes Now

Balsiger Insurance provides our clients with affordable coverage that helps business owners protect their business. Contact us now to request a quote for tree service insurance. It’s free, fast, and comes with no obligation.