Would You ever hire a tree trimmer/climber without insurance?

[kirstenb1]

Tree work is expensive as heck, but insurance is worth it. WE've hired out so many jobs on our home over the years, and dh refuses to hire day laborers, the reason being, they're uninsured, and not making a fair wage.

 

[Nancyg56]

How does someone have a business and no insurance? But I would not hire either.

Chances are the business is not licensed. Big problem IMO. I live in CT and we have a lot of trees here. After storm Alfred there were a lot of people flooding the area offering their services. My friend is a licensed electrician and he was talking to some contractors from out of state. They were making a lot of money but were not licensed. If there is a problem the homeowner is the one on the line those folks are long gone.

Our friend went through our neighborhood making sure we all got our lines reattached to the house and charged a reasonable amount but he told us that there was one who said that a man pulled up to her house and did the job for less. He peeked and said it was going to be a nightmare for her once the power company checked. The guy did not get a permit and did the job wrong. He also said that he has been fixing some dangerous situations now that the fly-by-nights are gone home and the homeowner needs to get the problems fixed. They are paying twice.

And let's not talk about the tree guys who do not have insurance to take down trees by power lines. I would not want the bill if that goes wrong

 

[Rabscuttle]

heck no.

Last year my mom called to tell me the people across from her were having tress taken down and to bring my son over. He's a typical little boy and loves equipment, trucks, etc. So I took him and all day we were watching them work from her living room. All the sudden the guys started running around like crazy and we go hmm that's odd and my dad says if something happened you wouldn't hear the machines running. 2 seconds later the noises stopped and about 30 seconds later we hear sirens. Sure enough here comes the cops, EMTS, ambulance. The guy fell from the tree and what he was cutting landed on him. He was airlifted to a trauma unit and did survive (don't know the extent of his injuries). Thankfully the company was insured. So no, no way would I ever hire someone who is uninsured.

Your story goes to show that even the most experienced tree surgeons can't control events. Insurance doesn't guarantee that bad things won't happen but it pays for the damages when things go wrong.

 

[tlbwriter]

Not in this lifetime. I'm not willing to gamble my home and other assets on a $1500 bet, regardless of the odds.

It's not even a $1500 bet - they'd only be saving $1000, since they still have to pay this guy $500.

 

[OceanAnnie]

No.

Could be a wipe out in more ways than one.

 

[DVC-Don]

............. problem is, he doesn't have insurance but will sign a waiver that he won't sue if he gets hurt. .............?

This is what is refered to as a "Hold Harmless" agreement. Problem is this will not hold up in a court and he could still sue.

 

[Rabscuttle]

This is what is refered to as a "Hold Harmless" agreement. Problem is this will not hold up in a court and he could still sue.

That is correct. Furthermore, it seems to me, even if he chose never to sue, that doesn't stop his health insurer from investigating and subrogating the cost of his care.