Tree service
Tree Service Insurance Cost Calculator
The four policies a tree service needs, in a trade where workers compensation and the equipment float both run high.
Result
Tree work carries one of the highest workers compensation class rates of any trade, because the injuries are both frequent and severe: falls from height, struck-by from limbs and rigging, chainsaw injuries and chipper incidents. That means the experience modifier multiplies a large base, so a point of loss history costs far more here than in a low hazard class, and fall prevention and rigging discipline are financial controls as well as safety ones. Equipment cover is broken out because it is the policy most often missing: a standard property policy generally covers property at your premises, not a chipper and grinder that live on a trailer, and inland marine is what responds to loss or theft away from the yard.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Four lines on three different bases. General liability runs off revenue per thousand, workers compensation off payroll per hundred and multiplied by the experience modifier, commercial auto per vehicle, and equipment cover off the value of kit carried on jobs. Totalled against revenue, it gives the share your labour rate has to recover.
What moves the number
- The workers compensation class rate, which for tree work is among the highest anywhere.
- The experience modifier, which multiplies that high base rate.
- Equipment value carried away from the yard, which property cover does not reach.
- Vehicle count, including the chip truck and any trailer-mounted kit.
Where this one goes wrong
Because the workers compensation base rate is so high in this trade, the experience modifier moves real money: the same point of loss history costs far more here than in a low hazard class, which makes fall prevention and rigging discipline a direct financial control rather than only a safety obligation. Rating weights claim frequency, so the small recordable injuries matter as much as the serious ones. Equipment cover is the line most often missing, since commercial property generally covers kit at your premises rather than a grinder on a trailer overnight.
Before you quote
- Audit the class code and payroll split, since errors are costly on this rate.
- Carry inland marine cover for equipment away from the yard.
- Treat frequency reduction as the lever on the experience modifier.
Questions
About this calculator
Why is tree service insurance so expensive?
Workers compensation, mainly. The class rate reflects genuinely severe injury exposure from working at height with cutting equipment, and it applies to payroll rather than revenue. That makes insurance a larger share of cost in this trade than in most, which is why it has to be priced into the job explicitly.
Does my property policy cover my chipper?
Usually not once it leaves the yard. Commercial property generally covers property at a scheduled location, while equipment travelling to and sitting on job sites needs inland marine cover. It is a common gap and it surfaces after a theft from a trailer overnight.
How much can the experience modifier save me?
On a class rate this high, a meaningful amount, and the calculator shows the figure for your own numbers. Because rating formulas weight claim frequency heavily, preventing the smaller recordable injuries matters as much as preventing the serious ones, and improvements work through the modifier over several years rather than immediately.
Do I need an umbrella policy?
Tree work can cause severe damage to houses, vehicles and people when something goes wrong, and those claims can exceed a primary liability limit. Umbrella cover is priced low per million relative to that exposure, which is why many operators carry it. Whether your limits are adequate depends on the properties you work around and is worth discussing with your broker.
The formula
workers comp = payroll / 100 x class rate x experience modifier; general liability = revenue / 1,000 x rate; equipment = value / 1,000 x rate
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How to use this calculator
- Annual revenue ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $720,000.
- Annual field payroll ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $260,000.
- General liability rate per $1,000 of revenue ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $22.
- Workers compensation rate per $100 of payroll ($). Tree work carries one of the highest class rates in any trade, because falls and struck-by injuries are both frequent and severe.
- Experience modifier. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 1.
- Trucks and chip trucks. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 3.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to total annual premium, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual revenue | $720,000 |
| Annual field payroll | $260,000 |
| General liability rate per $1,000 of revenue | $22 |
| Workers compensation rate per $100 of payroll | $18 |
| Experience modifier | 1 |
| Trucks and chip trucks | 3 |
| Commercial auto per vehicle | $2,400 |
| Value of equipment carried on jobs | $95,000 |
| Equipment cover rate per $1,000 of value | $12 |
| Umbrella limit | $1,000,000 |
| Umbrella premium per million | $1,800 |
| Claims history loading | 0% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Total annual premium main result | $72,780 |
| Workers compensation | $46,800 |
| General liability | $15,840 |
| Commercial auto | $7,200 |
| Equipment cover | $1,140 |
| Umbrella | $1,800 |
| As a share of revenue | 10.1% |
| Cost per field hour at 2,000 hours | $36.39 |
| Effect of the experience modifier | $0 |
Insurance totals $72,780 a year, which is 10.1% of revenue and $36.39 for every field hour. Workers compensation alone is $46,800, and the experience modifier is worth $0 against a neutral rating.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only annual revenue, this is what happens to total annual premium. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Annual revenue ($) | Total annual premium |
|---|---|
| $360,000 | $64,860 |
| $540,000 | $68,820 |
| $720,000 example above | $72,780 |
| $1,080,000 | $80,700 |
| $1,440,000 | $88,620 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Annual revenue ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 100000000, starting at $720,000.
- Annual field payroll ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 50000000, starting at $260,000.
- General liability rate per $1,000 of revenue ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 500, starting at $22.
- Workers compensation rate per $100 of payroll ($)
- Tree work carries one of the highest class rates in any trade, because falls and struck-by injuries are both frequent and severe.
- Experience modifier
- A number, between 0.3 and 3, starting at 1.
- Trucks and chip trucks
- A number, between 0 and 200, starting at 3.
- Commercial auto per vehicle ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 50000, starting at $2,400.
- Value of equipment carried on jobs ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 10000000, starting at $95,000.
- Equipment cover rate per $1,000 of value ($)
- Inland marine covers the chipper, grinder and saws away from the yard. Property policies generally do not.
- Umbrella limit ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 50000000, starting at $1,000,000.
- Umbrella premium per million ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 50000, starting at $1,800.
- Claims history loading (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 200, starting at 0%.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Total annual premium | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Workers compensation | A money figure. |
| General liability | A money figure. |
| Commercial auto | A money figure. |
| Equipment cover | A money figure. |
| Umbrella | A money figure. |
| As a share of revenue | A percentage. |
| Cost per field hour at 2,000 hours | A money figure. |
| Effect of the experience modifier | A money figure. |
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