Insurance by Industry
Insurance Built for Arborists and Tree Service Crews
From climbing gear to chippers to the truck hauling it all, we help Idaho tree service businesses find coverage that matches the actual risk.
Arborist and tree service insurance is a package of commercial policies designed to cover the specific exposures that come with working at height, operating heavy equipment, and moving from job site to job site with a truck full of gear. Tree work sits near the top of injury-frequency tables for outdoor trades, and a single falling branch can mean a workers' comp claim, a property damage lawsuit, and a week of lost revenue all at once. Bittick Insurance is an independent agency in Eagle, Idaho. We work with multiple carriers to build a coverage program around what your crew actually does, not a generic contractor package that leaves gaps.
What this coverage includes
General Liability
General liability insurance covers third-party bodily injury and property damage claims that arise from your work. If a limb drops onto a client's roof in Meridian, or a bystander gets struck by debris, your general liability policy pays for the damage and the legal costs if the client sues. For non-certified tree workers, it also covers mistakes made during the job itself, not just accidents. This is the foundational policy in any tree service program.
Workers' Compensation
Workers' compensation pays medical bills and a portion of lost wages when an employee is hurt on the job. Tree work means climbing, chainsaws, heavy rigging, and ground crew working beneath falling debris. Idaho requires most employers with one or more employees to carry workers' comp. Carriers underwrite arborist workers' comp differently than general landscaping, so placing it correctly matters. Bittick shops this with carriers who actually understand the climbing classification.
Inland Marine (Tools and Equipment in Transit)
Inland marine insurance covers tools and equipment while they're moving between locations or sitting on a job site. Your commercial property policy covers what's inside your shop or yard; inland marine covers the chainsaw, the aerial lift, and the wood chipper once they leave the yard. For tree service crews running multiple jobs across the Treasure Valley in a day, this is where a lot of real-world losses happen.
Commercial Auto
A personal auto policy will not cover a truck being used to haul equipment to job sites. Commercial auto insurance covers your vehicles for liability and physical damage when they're in business use, including trailers and tow rigs. If a crew member gets in an accident on the way to a job in Caldwell, commercial auto is what responds.
Business Income and Commercial Property
Commercial property coverage protects your shop, storage yard, and the equipment kept there. Business income coverage replaces revenue you lose when a covered event forces you to stop operations. A business owners policy (BOP) typically bundles commercial property and general liability into one policy at a lower combined cost than buying them separately, which makes it a common starting point for smaller tree service operations.
Pairs well with
General Liability Insurance
Covers third-party property damage and bodily injury claims. The foundation of any tree service insurance program and often required before a municipality or HOA will allow you on the property.
Learn more ›Workers' Compensation Insurance
Required for most Idaho employers and especially critical in tree work where injury rates are high. Covers medical care and partial wage replacement for injured employees.
Learn more ›Commercial Auto Insurance
Covers your trucks, vans, and tow rigs during business use. Personal auto policies exclude commercial activity, so any vehicle making job-site runs needs its own commercial policy.
Learn more ›Inland Marine Insurance
Protects chainsaws, aerial equipment, and other tools while they travel between job sites or sit at a client's property. Standard commercial property does not follow equipment off your premises.
Learn more ›Business Owners Policy (BOP)
Bundles general liability and commercial property into a single policy. A practical option for smaller tree service businesses looking to keep coverage organized and cost manageable.
Learn more ›Professional Liability Insurance
Covers claims that your professional advice or recommendations caused financial harm. Relevant for certified arborists who provide written assessments, disease diagnoses, or risk evaluations as part of their service.
Learn more ›What this coverage protects against
Common risks and how this coverage addresses them. Tap any scenario to expand.
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A limb drops onto the client's vehicle during a removal.
The risk
Your crew is taking down a large cottonwood in a Boise backyard. The rigging holds on the main trunk, but a secondary limb swings wider than expected and comes down on the client's parked SUV, caving in the hood and shattering the windshield.
How this coverage helps
Your general liability policy covers the cost to repair or replace the vehicle. It also covers your legal defense if the client decides to pursue the claim through an attorney rather than settling directly.
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A climber takes a serious fall on a residential job.
The risk
One of your certified climbers is ascending a large ponderosa on a hillside lot in the Boise foothills when a saddle strap fails. He falls roughly fifteen feet, fractures his wrist, and can't work for six weeks.
How this coverage helps
Workers' compensation covers his emergency care, orthopedic visits, and physical therapy, and pays a portion of his wages during recovery. Without it, those costs land directly on you as the employer.
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Equipment gets stolen from the job-site trailer overnight.
The risk
Your crew parks the equipment trailer at a multi-day job in Star. Overnight, someone cuts the trailer lock and takes two professional chainsaws, a pole saw, and a climbing harness kit. The gear is worth close to four thousand dollars.
How this coverage helps
An inland marine policy covers tools and equipment stolen from a job site or a vehicle, territory your commercial property policy doesn't reach once the equipment has left your yard.
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Your truck and trailer are hit on the way to a job.
The risk
A crew member is merging onto Highway 44 in Meridian with the chip truck when another driver runs the light and clips the trailer, bending the tongue and damaging the rear of the truck. Everyone is fine, but both vehicles need repair.
How this coverage helps
Commercial auto insurance covers the physical damage to your truck and trailer and pays liability for the other driver's property damage if your driver shares fault. A personal auto policy would have declined the claim the moment it learned the truck was being used commercially.
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Debris from a stump grinder strikes a neighbor's window.
The risk
Your grinder operator is working a stubborn pine stump in a Nampa front yard. A chunk of root catches the blade at the wrong angle and launches through the fence, breaking a window on the house next door.
How this coverage helps
General liability covers the cost to replace the neighbor's window and any related damage. It also handles any dispute if the neighbor claims the broken glass injured someone inside.
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A fire damages your storage yard and grounded equipment.
The risk
A late-summer ember from a nearby field fire lands on dry debris behind your equipment storage in Caldwell. The fire damages your yard fence, a storage shed, and a chipper that was parked and not covered by the inland marine policy because it was on your premises.
How this coverage helps
Commercial property coverage applies to physical assets at your business location, including structures and equipment stored on the premises. Business income coverage can replace the revenue you lose while the chipper is out of service for repairs.
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An arborist report you wrote leads to a dispute over tree value.
The risk
You're a certified arborist and you provided a written assessment recommending removal of a heritage oak on a property sale. After closing, the buyer disputes the assessment and claims the tree was worth preserving, citing financial loss.
How this coverage helps
Professional liability insurance covers claims that your professional advice caused financial harm. It pays your legal defense and any settlement, separate from your general liability policy, which covers physical damage rather than disputes over professional recommendations.
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A job site injury keeps your whole crew off the road.
The risk
Your lead climber is injured mid-week on a large commercial removal contract in Eagle. The injury is serious enough that the job has to stop, and you have to cancel the following week's residential schedule while you sort out coverage and find a replacement.
How this coverage helps
Business income coverage replaces the revenue you lose during the interruption, up to the policy limit. It's separate from workers' comp, which handles the injured employee's costs, and together they help prevent one bad week from threatening the whole business.