What Should You Do When Your Insurance Asks You To Remove Trees?

In an effort to reduce their exposure to potentially expensive claims, many homeowners’ insurance companies have started to demand that homeowners remove one or more trees from their property. 

In some cases, this may be a valid request — a dead, 60-foot-tall maple overhanging your home is likely a significant hazard to people and property alike. But in other cases, these kinds of requests may seem excessive; there’s not always a legitimate reason to remove a healthy, structurally sound tree just because it is in close proximity to your home. 

But what can homeowners do in these cases? What responsibilities do you have in general?

We’ll explain everything you need to know below. 

Responding to a Removal Request: A Step-by-Step Plan

It’s easy to panic when you first receive a message from your insurance company demanding that you remove one of your beloved trees. But try to stay calm and just work through the following steps.

1. First Things First: Understand Why the Insurance Company Is Concerned About Your Trees

Insurance companies usually don’t make tree removal requests lightly. They usually have a pretty good reason for the request, such as one or (more commonly) some combination of the following:

• The tree is diseased or decaying. Trees compromised in either of these manners are more likely to drop limbs or fall over during storms. 
• The tree overhangs your home. Even healthy trees shed branches at times, and if one of these branches falls on your roof, it may cause significant damage.
• The tree is quite large. Even if a tree appears to be structurally sound and healthy, your insurance company may not want to accept the risks a large tree can present. 
• Other, similar trees have recently caused damage in the area. If your insurance company has recently noted similar trees in your area failing, they may want yours removed preemptively. 
• Your area suffers from frequent severe weather. Strong storms can occasionally topple healthy, stable trees, so your insurance company may factor this risk into its decision. 

By learning some of the reasons insurance companies often require tree removal, you’ll be better able to evaluate how reasonable the request is and take the appropriate steps.   

2. Review the Details of Your Insurance Policy

Now that you can hopefully understand some of the common reasons why insurance companies demand that you have trees removed, you can move on to the next steps. And those all start by digging up your policy and going over it with a fine-toothed comb. 

In most cases, the language in your policy will ultimately determine whether you have to have the tree removed or if there is any room for negotiation. 

A few things you’ll want to check for include:

• Removal Requirements: Some homeowners’ insurance policies will explicitly include situations in which you’ll be required to remove trees. For example, you may be required to remove dead trees immediately. 
• Limits or Terms: Some policies may not cover damages resulting from trees that meet the removal requirements established in the contract. 
• Responsible Party: In the vast majority of cases, you’ll be responsible for covering the costs of tree removal (assuming the tree is still standing), but it is wise to verify this anyway. 
• Arbitration Clauses: Some insurance policies include provisions that allow you to work with a neutral, third-party arbitrator to address conflicts, including those involving trees. 

3. Review Your Local Tree Ordinances

It’s important to understand that your insurance company may not be the final arbiter who determines the fate of your tree — this may fall to your local city, township, or county, as some have laws in place regarding situations in which trees can and cannot be removed. 

Every situation is unique, but tree ordinance laws will often override insurance requests, meaning that you may not have to remove your tree if you’re not legally required to do so. 

4. Get a Professional Inspection / Arborist Report

It’s important to note that insurance inspectors and adjusters are usually not arborists. This means that they may not understand how to distinguish a healthy and stable tree from one that poses a hazard. Accordingly, you’ll want to have an ISA-certified arborist assess your tree and provide a written report. 

Doing so may not only provide you with documentation that may convince your insurance company that the tree doesn’t require removal, but it may also reveal potential alternatives (more on this later). 

5. Communicate with Your Insurance Adjuster

Once you have an arborist’s report in hand, you can reach back out to your insurance company. Provide them with a copy of the report and give them a reasonable amount of time to review it. In a best-case scenario, they’ll decide to accept the arborist’s opinion and withdraw their request that you have the tree removed. 

However, if they don’t, you’ll want to use this time to ask a few important questions:

• Is there an appeals process available to you?
• Will the insurance company pay for some or all of the removal costs?
• Are there any mitigation options you could do instead?
• Will they waive coverage of damage resulting from the tree in exchange for allowing you to keep it?
• How long do you have to get the tree removed?

Just be sure to get answers to all of these questions in writing to help protect yourself moving forward.  

You Can’t Change Your Insurer’s Mind: Now What?

Let’s assume your insurance company won’t budge – they’re standing by their request that you have one or more trees removed from your property. What are your options? Do you have to carry out the removal?

In most cases, you won’t have to remove the tree. But your insurance company doesn’t have to provide you with coverage, either. 

Often, refusing their request to remove a tree will result in the cancellation of your policy. Or, if they don’t cancel your policy outright, they may refuse to offer you coverage when the current term expires. 

This is part of the reason a removal request isn’t really a request at all — it’s a demand. 

So, that basically leaves you with a choice: Remove the tree or start shopping for a new insurance provider. Keep in mind that policy cancellations may trigger more expensive rates in the future, and your new insurance company may very well make a similar request in the future. 

In any event, your choice will generally boil down to removing the tree or shopping for a new policy. 

Potential Alternatives for Negotiation

One potential approach that some homeowners have found successful is to present the insurance company with removal alternatives — things that’ll mitigate some of the risk the tree presents, yet fall short of complete removal. 

For example, you may offer to:

• Have the tree (or some portion of it) cabled or braced. Cabling and bracing techniques can help reduce the instability of branches with poor structure, potentially reducing the risk to a comfortable level for the insurance provider. 
• Have the tree pruned. If your insurance company’s primary concern is that branches may fall on your roof (or some other target), you may be able to have the tree pruned substantially, which would reduce the risk to your home. 
• Have the tree treated for pests or disease. In cases where pests or disease are the primary troubling factor for your insurance company, treatment strategies may help address the health problem, resulting in lower risk and a reduced need for removal.  
• Move potential targets in the area. While this won’t work for your actual house, if the tree is putting something like a fence, hardscape, or shed at risk, you may be able to remove or relocate the structure rather than the tree.   

You may find that none of these approaches satisfy your insurance provider, but there’s nothing to be lost by simply offering these potential alternatives. 

Select a Tree Service Professional If Removal Is Required

If you end up with no other options but removal, it’s imperative that you choose a tree service company that’ll carry out the work safely and professionally. 

So, you’ll want to look for a tree-service provider that:

• Has ISA-certified arborists on staff. 
• Is licensed and insured in your jurisdiction. 
• Has established a positive track record in your local community. 
• Will gladly provide you with a written estimate for the services.
• Has years of experience in the tree-care industry. 
• Maintains all of the equipment necessary to complete the work properly. 
• Emphasizes safety in their digital and print marketing materials. 
• Responds promptly to messages and answers all of the questions you have. 
• Treats you with respect. 

If you can find a tree service that checks off all these boxes — like the pros at Treemendous Tree Care do — you’ll be more likely to receive the kind of service you deserve. 

Insurance Tree Removal Demands: FAQ

Still have questions about the way removal demands work? We’ve rounded up a few of the most common questions we hear from homeowners and answered them below!

Can insurance companies force you to remove a tree?

Technically, no; effectively, yes. Your homeowners’ insurance company can’t “force” you to do anything, but they can cancel your policy if you fail to take corrective actions they may require in some cases. So, unless you’re willing to shop around for another insurance provider, you’ll often have to remove trees they identify as hazardous. 

Do insurance companies help pay for tree removals?

Insurance companies will rarely pay for the cost of removing a standing tree. That is viewed as typical maintenance and falls on you as the homeowner. 

However, if a tree falls on your house, the insurance company will likely pay for its removal, unless they can demonstrate that the tree was dead or you were negligent in allowing it to remain standing. 

Who is responsible for paying when a tree falls on your property?

Your homeowner’s insurance policy will cover your house from damages resulting from trees that fall over – whether the tree in question was yours or it belonged to a neighbor. 

Are trees covered on homeowners’ insurance?

It will depend on the specifics of your policy, but most homeowners’ insurance policies do not cover damage to your trees. 

Trust Treemendous Tree Care for All Your Tree Pruning and Removal Needs!

Whether your insurance company forces your hand and requires you to have a beloved tree removed or you’ve convinced them that pruning may be sufficient, the professional arborists at Treemendous Tree Care are ready to help!

We’ve been providing industry-leading tree-care services and removals for residents and commercial property managers in Southeast Michigan since 2019, and we’ve built a reputation for being the tree-care professionals Michiganders can trust. From emergency tree work to crane-assisted removals to stump grinding, we do it all!

Contact us today to discuss your tree-care needs!

Sources and References

• Kasper, Jim. “Insurance Pruning: Cut Risks, Not Canopies.” TCI Magazine, Tree Care Industry Association, July 1, 2025. https://tcimag.tcia.org/current-issue/insurance-pruning-cut-risks-not-canopies/
• Russell, Mark. “Misconceptions About Property-Insurance Coverage for Trees on Houses.” Tree Care Industry Magazine, Tree Care Industry Association, October 1, 2021. https://tcimag.tcia.org/business-strategy/misconceptions-about-property-insurance-coverage-for-trees-on-houses/
• United Policyholders. “What’s UP with Trees, Shrubs, and Landscaping Insurance Coverage?” Claim Guidance Library, United Policyholders. https://uphelp.org/claim-guidance-publications/whats-up-with-trees-shrubs-and-landscaping-insurance-coverage/