Tree Cutting Service

Many “Bad Actor” tree cutting service companies commonly travel to geographic areas devastated by storm damage and solicit their tree cutting services to vulnerable homeowners. They promote immediate service to the insured and express their insurance company pays 100% of the invoice. Adding, there will be “no out of pocket cost to you” plus, they state they will waive the or absorb the deductible. The Tree Company representative emphasizes they are professionals, they work hand in hand with the insurance companies and this is how it is done.  The Tree company representative (commonly the owner) may use deception and trickery to obtain a signature on a tablet and or cell phone, not viewing the entire form. The representative explains, the signature gives the company authority to enter the property, discuss the services to be conducted with the insurance adjusters and authority to submit the invoice to their insurance company. Many insured later indicated their signature was attached to a document they had never seen. 

The tree service companies were submitting invoices to the member insurance companies which were signed by the insured and were approximately 10 x what the inspectors said the cost for removal should have been. Those invoices were commonly between $15K & $65K. When the insurance companies only agreed to pay what was covered by the homeowner’s policy, the removal companies were threatening civil litigation and LIENs on those homeowners. The tree companies explained to the member companies, the invoices were considered “Emergency Service” and there were several line items on the invoices which were “mandatory minimum cost line-items”, just to bring the equipment on sight. During a 3-year investigation, NICB assisted the Attorney General’s Office identify insured individuals who were deceived by several tree contractors, who appear to have grossly overcharged and exploited citizens of the State. On May 30th, 2024, the Attorney General’s Office/Consumers Protection Unit filed civil charges against 4 tree cutting companies for allegedly conducting illegal business in the State.