Anyone running into problems with an insurance company wanting you to trim all limbs back that overhang a roofline ? This a 50 plus year old post oak with limbs horizontal 8-15 feet above the roofline and they saying it now has to be clear cut back completely from the house. Doing so would probably remove 1/3 or more of all the branches, some 12 plus inches wide from the tree and possibly end up killing the tree. Any insurance recs for company's that are tree friendly ?

Have a rental property w/ 60+ y/o live oaks, but insurance hasn't caught up to that yet. Not surprised to hear your story.

I recently changed my homeowners on my residence at a substantial savings to my renewal. They sent out an inspector after the policy went into effect. After the inspection, they said that I must fix the uneven concrete in my driveway or they wouldn't renew my policy. There is less than half an inch of difference in the slabs.

Guess they are afraid of a fall claim, or they don't want me to renew...

These are all subtle ways of insurance companies trying to thin the herd on their books. Making you provide proof of work completed long ago, jump through hoop after hoop, remove trees or not renewing bc of xyz. It's only going to get worse I think as this market continues to test the insurers resolve.

I have had a couple like this lately. Has cost me some relationships when ins agents were not willing to go to bat and acted like it was status quo. Move on and find someone that values your business in good and bad markets.

Deats99 said:

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I have had a couple like this lately. Has cost me some relationships when ins agents were not willing to go to bat and acted like it was status quo. Move on and find someone that values your business in good and bad markets.

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Just curious, how would the agent go to bat for you?

Yep, this happened to a coworker of mine in the past few months. And in his case, the trimming was required to maintain his existing insurance, not even from shopping around for new policies/providers.

I've not heard of this yet, but it's not at all surprising. I've had some mostly underhanded things happen over the past 18 months that lead me to believe that the posts above are right. Lots of denials, policy changes, general weeding out of customers.

I'd shop it. I'm not cutting my oaks back. I can see how the trees eventually will hang and rub on a roof which creates leaks, or the debris from the trees creates leaks, that's all common. It's still a tough ask.

Is your roof asphalt? I'd comb through my policy and look for the verbiage. If I couldn't find it, they'd have to produce it or I'd tell them to pound sand.

Maybe you can go metal roofing and have that qualify. It won't give a flip about the tree.

Happens a lot....In fact, a lot of companies are now using Google Earth images before the policy is issued to try and get in front of this.

I doubt there is anything the agent can do here, they can definitely try and fight it but that's an uphill battle with underwriting since most companies want to limit their exposure.

You can always rewrite to a new company but there are so many fewer options and constraints right now that is becoming a problem for people, particularly if the home is rural and/or an older home. And then its also hard to know what a new company might or might not flag during an inspection after the policy is issued.

However I would explorer all options you can though before cutting the tree. Might have to pay more with an alternative company but for a tree like that it would be worth it IMO.

My "go to" said "it is what it is". We wrote it with another agent, same carrier, half the cost, no hack job. Seems the home was already with them and they had some grace for that. If any push back had been given before it would have been discovered.

Now I also had one that the listing agent and myself split $2 grand in trimming services because no one would touch it.

This exact same thing just happened to us in Austin with Travelers. I had my agent at Liere shop the policy and we're switching to Geico. The homeowners policy is a bit more expensive but the auto policy is quite a bit cheaper.

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This exact same thing just happened to us in Austin with Travelers

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Same - a few years ago we were with Travelers & we actually had to cut down a holly - more or less an ornamental that never gets full tree size - that was beside our house. No big limbs that would ever cause a problem.

We eventually switched.

The Silverback said:

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Happens a lot....In fact, a lot of companies are now using Google Earth images before the policy is issued to try and get in front of this.

I doubt there is anything the agent can do here, they can definitely try and fight it but that's an uphill battle with underwriting since most companies want to limit their exposure.

You can always rewrite to a new company but there are so many fewer options and constraints right now that is becoming a problem for people, particularly if the home is rural and/or an older home. And then its also hard to know what a new company might or might not flag during an inspection after the policy is issued.

However I would explorer all options you can though before cutting the tree. Might have to pay more with an alternative company but for a tree like that it would be worth it IMO.

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I actually recently read a WSJ article about this and they seem to believe it's much further along than using Google Earth....

WSJ: Insurers Are Spying on Your Home From the Sky

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Nearly every building in the country is being photographed, often without the owner's knowledge. Companies are deploying drones, manned airplanes and high-altitude balloons to take images of properties.

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The array of photos is being sorted by computer models to spy out underwriting no-nos, such as damaged roof shingles, yard debris, overhanging tree branches and undeclared swimming pools or trampolines. The red-flagged images are providing insurers with ammunition for nonrenewal notices nationwide.

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