For tree care pros, each day on the job brings unique risks when working at dangerous heights with heavy equipment. The tree care service business is one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States.
Ignoring safety in the tree care business doesn’t just lead to destroyed equipment, avoidable injuries, and fatalities for your clients. It also drives up insurance costs on account of higher premiums, denied insurance claims, and lost time that hits the company’s bottom line. (And potentially ruin your relationships with your clients.)
As insurance brokers, you play a critical role in helping arborists and tree care contractors reduce risks and operate sustainably.
As liaisons between arborists and insurance companies, you can be vital allies in helping them navigate challenges, and minimize risks and insurance claims.
Let’s examine how your tree care service clients can minimize insurance claims, and improve safety with rock-solid safety protocols and trusted advice from you.
When Tree Care Companies Cut Corners on Safety, It Can Be Costly
Ignoring certain safety protocols might seem like it saves time and money in the short run for tree care businesses. But this type of neglect can swiftly come back to bite with major consequences— tree care service companies see their incident rates and insurance claims spike when proper procedures aren’t followed.
Workers face greater risks of falls, equipment accidents, and contact with utility lines that lead to lost time, disabilities, or tragic fatalities.
While tree care workers form less than 0.05% of the workforce, they account for 1.4% of work-related fatalities. The human toll alone should be reason enough to make safety a topmost priority.
In addition, unsafe practices also drive up operational costs in ways that hurt business resilience. Preventable accidents quickly trigger steep insurance rate hikes, with premiums becoming unaffordable for firms with poor safety histories. Insurers will balk at frequent payouts, and deny claims that result from negligence.
This leaves your clients footing the bill for substantial costs like medical care, disability coverage, replacing destroyed equipment, or repairing damaged property.
In extreme cases, violations of safety standards also prompt local governments to revoke business licenses. In such cases, companies are unable to legally operate until safety protocols are improved.
Strengthen Your Partnership With Your Clients
While your primary job as an insurance broker is to provide your clients with coverage and risk guidance, fully tackling safety issues requires a collaborative approach with tree care businesses.
By working together, you can help implement robust risk management programs to reduce accidents and insurance claims.
Some key areas where your advice can be vital for your tree care service clients:
- Safety Training – Brokers can provide access to online safety courses, in-person seminars, staff training resources, and more. Helping clients train employees is one of the most impactful risk reduction strategies.
- Loss Control Assessments – Conducting job site visits and safety audits enables brokers to identify hazards and suggest targeted improvements. Annual assessments help track progress.
- Proactive Risk Assessments – Work with clients to evaluate potential hazards before jobs begin. Provide risk analysis expertise and help identify ways to mitigate dangers.
- Tailored Insurance Solutions – Use intimate knowledge of the tree care industry to design customized insurance products that meet clients’ specific needs.
- Education and Awareness – Educate clients on emerging industry risks, state/federal regulations, equipment innovations, and other relevant safety topics through newsletters, events, and materials.
- Incident Response Planning – Assist clients in creating effective procedures for handling injuries, property damage, and other incidents. Proper documentation and claim filing improve outcomes. Your experience can help
them plan documentation better. Find out how they are doing things and suggest improvements where relevant, with their best interests in mind.
- Equipment Inspections – Provide checklists and qualified inspectors to review machinery like lifts, chippers, and trucks. Use your network to help your clients learn about and procure safer equipment when needed.
- Claims Advocacy – Leverage your expertise to optimize the claims process after incidents. Flag potential denial risks and appeal erroneous claim decisions.
Insurance Challenges for Tree Care Businesses
Given the considerable risks involved, securing affordable and adequate insurance coverage poses challenges for tree care companies. Here are some of the key insurance issues facing the industry:
- High Premiums – Premiums for tree care general liability insurance are rising across the board. Premiums are based on perceived level of risk, so payouts for frequent or severe claims quickly increase policy costs.
- Exclusions – Many insurance policies contain exclusions for hazardous tree removal, use of cranes, or working above a certain height. This can leave dangerous work uncovered. You should help find policies without overly restrictive exclusions.
- Coverage Gaps – Businesses may opt for basic liability policies that don’t cover key risks like equipment damage, weather losses, or worker’s compensation for injuries.
- Finding Specialty Coverage – Mainstream insurers increasingly shy away from covering tree care. Businesses are better off seeking out specialty insurance focused on higher-risk categories.
- Meeting Insurance Requirements – Large contractors often require $2 million or more in liability insurance to bid on jobs. Newer businesses may have trouble meeting those requirements until they establish a solid safety record.
With NIP’s specialty insurance for tree care companies, you can help your clients to overcome the above challenges.
Tailored Insurance Solutions for Eco-Visionaries
While quality insurance coverage provides an essential foundation, truly protecting these high-risk businesses also demands hands-on collaboration and unwavering support.
That’s what you and your clients get with NIP. For over 35 years, NIP Group has provided that unmatched partnership for tree care professionals. We offer TreePro—a comprehensive solution that caters to tree service businesses of all sizes, ranging from owner-operators to the industry’s largest companies
With smart coverage and a genuine risk partner, TreePro isn’t just offering insurance solutions; we provide the support for your tree care service clients to truly thrive. Contact us today.
