mike515
ArboristSite Operative
I am in Iowa. My current rate is 13.91% and it's set to go up to over 14% in May. My rate with the new place would be 9.31% but because of claims history I would basically get a discount to bring it down to 8.94%.
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whadja do today?
- Thread starter treevet
- Start date
I am in Iowa. My current rate is 13.91% and it's set to go up to over 14% in May. My rate with the new place would be 9.31% but because of claims history I would basically get a discount to bring it down to 8.94%.
mikewhite85
ArboristSite Guru
Good deal!!
The difference in rates by state is astounding. We used to pay close to 50 in California.
mike515
ArboristSite Operative
I know a lot of companies have it worse than we do so I try to keep that in mind. It's pretty crazy. I just wish everyone around my area was playing by the same rules. I know with almost 100% certainty that none of the competition in my entire county carries work comp. Most are paying guys cash. We pay the most (as far as I know) and that drives our work comp cost that much higher. There is even a guy around here who has 3 or 4 foster kids who he gets paid to take care of (by the state) and I've seen them working on his jobs plenty of times. I mean.....last fall....we're talking about major storm response with trees all over houses and cars and this guy has his crew of 11-12 year old kids out there working in shorts with no PPE. That is not ok. I bet he has better work comp rates than any of us!
I get a little pissed off thinking about that kind of stuff but then I tell myself......we're the oldest company in our area, we do things the right way, people know that, just worry about us.
Jester3775
ArboristSite Member
You the Man tree MDS !
mike515
ArboristSite Operative
I did a tour of recent storm damage at a nearby arboretum today (which was actually pretty sad to see....they lost over 260 mature trees). It was major damage but some trees were still ok. I came across this guy and was surprised that I wasn't sure what kind of tree it was. It's growing in this one spot in our state but I've never seen one anywhere in our state in my entire career. Can anyone guess what it is? It was super cool and I'm going to go back and see it again tomorrow while I am putting our estimate together. I'm sure it's probably common in other parts of the country but not around here.
Oldmaple
Addicted to ArboristSite
Sweet Gum?
mike515
ArboristSite Operative
Not a Kentucky Coffee or Sweet Gum but those are good guesses. I'll post the answer later today if nobody guesses before that. Just putting my hands on the bark was different than any other tree I've climbed. It looks like it would have a rough, ridged feel like a hackberry but it actually have a soft and kind of smooth feel to it.
Here is another pic.
Here is another pic.
mikewhite85
ArboristSite Guru
Sort of looks like an alanthus. Need to see some leaves. I have a terrible time IDing trees around here in the winter.
Good luck on the bid. 260 trees sounds like a nice end of winter project.
mikewhite85
ArboristSite Guru
Did a nice preservation job on a Norway maple yesterday in NY. 5 bolts along main splitting codom, 2 cables going across, and some pruning. Nice to find customers willing to save their trees.
