Tree service & arborists insurance checklist: what a tree service company should carry

The tree service company insurance checklist

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Tree service & arborists usually carry general liability, workers' compensation and commercial auto. Tree companies climb and rig limbs over houses and power lines, run chippers, cranes and bucket trucks, and carry the highest workers' compensation rates of any outdoor trade for reasons every climber understands. The permit office and the property manager ask for proof of each. The checklist below says what every item does, who requires it and how to check it on the policies you already have.

Reviewed by Michael LaBarbera, Licensed property & casualty agent, Provident Financial Group · Reviewed Oct 12, 2026 Updated Oct 14, 2026

Who asks a tree service company for what

Who	What they usually want to see
Cities, counties & permits	General liability, auto and workers' compensation at the limits in the permit or contract
Property managers & HOAs	General liability with the manager and owner as additional insureds, and workers' compensation
Enterprise clients & vendor onboarding	General liability, professional or cyber liability, workers' compensation and often an umbrella

Each of them wants a certificate, and most want it again at every renewal. A live certificate link from the wallet shows today's coverage to every holder and tells them when it changes.

How to check what you already have

General liability declarations page. Three liability numbers matter: each occurrence, general aggregate and the products–completed operations aggregate. Then the forms list: blanket additional insured, waiver of subrogation and primary and non-contributory wording satisfy every contract; scheduled forms satisfy one.
Workers' compensation information page. Item 3.A must list every state you work in, item 4 must carry the right class codes, and the employers' liability limits should meet what contracts ask. Check that the estimated payroll is close to this year's.
Auto schedule. Every vehicle listed with the right garaging address and use; symbols that include hired and non-owned auto; physical damage with the lender as loss payee where the vehicle is financed.
Equipment schedule. Owned items scheduled above the per-item threshold, a blanket limit for small tools, leased or rented equipment included, and the valuation (replacement cost or actual cash value).
Umbrella schedule of underlying insurance. Each primary policy listed with the limits the umbrella expects; a gap between the two is uninsured.
Hired and non-owned auto. Look for the symbols 8 and 9 or an endorsement by that name on the auto or general liability policy; without it, staff in their own cars are uninsured on company business.
Employment practices declarations. Limit and retention, third-party coverage for claims by customers, and whether wage-and-hour claims carry any defence sublimit.
Pollution liability. Site-based or contractors form, claims-made or occurrence, the materials named (mold, asbestos, lead, fuels), and transport and disposal coverage.

What usually goes wrong for tree service companies

Climbers paid as 1099 contractors who are employees at audit and uninsured at the hospital.
Work near energised lines without the line-clearance qualification the carrier and the utility require.
Damage to the exact thing you are working on is excluded on most general liability forms; installation floaters and care, custody and control endorsements fill that hole.
Height exclusions on general liability policies written for ground-level work.
Rented lifts and machines not covered because the schedule says "owned equipment" only.
A radius or commodity on the application that no longer matches the work.

What underwriters will ask a tree service company

Climber and crew count and how they are paid, the equipment schedule including cranes and chippers, and whether crews are line-clearance qualified
Residential versus commercial split of the work
Whether any work is done above three stories or below grade
The maximum height you work at and how often
Fall-protection practices and training
A schedule of owned equipment with values, and typical rented units

Have the answers in the wallet before the renewal and the quote request fills itself in; CoverMatch sends one application to every eligible carrier and lines the quotes up against what you have.

Renewal timing

Audits at year end compare payroll, receipts and subcontractor costs with the estimate, so keep the wallet's size figures and the subcontractor certificates current. Start comparing sixty days before expiration, and ask for the limits the next contract will need rather than the ones the last one did.

Questions people actually ask

Why is workers' compensation so expensive for tree work?

Because falls, chainsaw injuries and struck-by claims are frequent and severe. The rate follows the class code; the only ways to move it are a clean record over years and a safety program the carrier can see. Pay-as-you-go billing at least keeps it matched to the season.

Does our general liability cover a limb that drops on a house?

Yes, as the ordinary claim of the trade, as long as the policy does not carry a height or crane exclusion. Crane work and work near power lines are rated separately; a policy that was never told about either can be contested on exactly those claims.

Does general liability cover damage to a customer's property while I work on it?

It covers damage to the rest of their property, not usually the part in your hands. Many forms exclude property in your care, custody or control, so a tree service company that handles valuable items or systems needs an endorsement or an installation floater. The policy explainer in the wallet flags the exclusion when it reads your policy.

Do I need workers' comp if my crew is small?

Most of the licensed states require it from the first employee, and general contractors require it from every sub whatever the size, because an uninsured sub's payroll is charged to their policy at audit. The state pages list each threshold with its source.

Is rented equipment covered under my policy?

Only if the equipment schedule says leased or rented equipment with a limit that matches what you rent. The rental yard's damage waiver is optional and expensive; a blanket rented-equipment limit on your own policy is usually the better answer.