tree work w/ homeowner's ins?

[treeman82]

hey guys. i have heard of guys doin tree work without insurance. and i have heard of guys doin tree work with massive commercial policies. however, i was talkin with a guy. he used to do tree work, still does it a bit. guy is older now. he did tree work, and excavation. but he did all that using his homeowner's insurance policy for coverage in case he did any damage. can anybody here tell me how that would work? sounds a bit fishy and dangerous to me. we saw the guy climb once, uses manilla rope. old manilla rope.

 

[sonny]

Dont knot about the insurance question. But dont put the man down for using Manilla rope. Its priced right & sometimes you cant teach an old dog new tricks

 

[Treebeard]

I'd think a homeowners policy would cover you on your property even using big rental manlifts, cranes, etc. They might wonder why you did'nt get a pro but the coverage would hold squashing your house with your tree. Doing the same thing on the next door neighbors tree might raise more eyebrows as to coverage. If they found out you were operating a business, even part time, I'd worry about them accepting the claim. Real insurance cost a few thousand bucks, but then not having a claim covered or hiring a lawyer to fight the insurance company would surely cost more. Why take the risk?

 

[John Paul McMillin]

need to talk to a lawyer on that one , i know homeowners insurance covers storm damage to the home from trees but if an arborist causes damage to your home why would you use your insurance to cover it it will make your rates go up. he or she should have their own insurance to cover any damage caused by them. john

 

[treeman82]

maybe i didnt make myself clear here. what i meant to say was that this guy did / does tree work and excavation for other people with only homeowners insurance. HIS homeowners insurance.

 

[treeclimber165]

Sounds like he is lying to himself. Last time I checked, your homeowner's insurance covers your home and property. Unless he has some special deal worked out with his agent (which I doubt), He is just fooling himself. When you try to file a claim is too late to get legitimate insurance.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

maybe he has a small policy with the people that do his homeowners. Like a rider or something that was issued year ago and he is grandfathered or something.

Kinda doubt it, this is a high risk trade. At least in an actuaries eyes. My current carrier is can'cing my policy on experation because they dont wnat to cober this type of work anymore. I'll be paying $833 for $US 1M next year for estimated $25 k gross earnings.

 

[nositting]

although i don't know the guy and hate to pre-judge....

could he be telling clients he's "covered" (with his personal homeowners insurance for HIS property) when he's really not covered for work off his property? does sound fishy...

not worth it.
not worht it.

-k