Tree Service Insurance 2026: Costs, 14-State Comp Rates, Exclusions

Tree service insurance costs more than lawn care insurance for one main reason: tree trimmers die on the job at a rate in the same range as loggers. This guide prices tree service insurance from public documents instead of quote forms: workers’ comp class 0106 figures from 14 state rating filings, the licensing rules that make coverage mandatory, insurer-published premiums (labelled as such), and the exclusions that leave tree companies uninsured for the jobs they do most. Lawn-only operators should read our lawn care business insurance guide instead; their comp class and liability pricing are different.

What insurance does a tree service need?

A tree service needs general liability for damage to clients’ property and passers-by, workers’ compensation for every employee who climbs, rigs or runs a chipper, commercial auto for bucket trucks and chip trucks, and inland marine cover for saws, climbing gear and the chipper itself. An umbrella, hired and non-owned auto, and professional liability for arborist reports are the usual add-ons.

Coverage	What it pays for	Tree-specific catch	Published price
General liability	Injury to the public and damage to property you don’t own: a limb through a roof, a fence crushed by a log	Many trim-only policies exclude removals, stump grinding, work near power lines or trees over a set height	$951–$1,875 a year for $1M/$2M (Insurance Canopy trim-only to Insureon median)
Workers’ compensation	Medical bills and lost wages for injured employees; required by state law above a headcount threshold	Priced per $100 of payroll under the tree class (0106 in most states), 1.0 to 3.2 times the landscape class in the states we checked	Payroll × state rate; see the state table
Commercial auto	Liability and physical damage for trucks, bucket trucks, and the trailer or chipper while towed	A personal auto policy typically won’t cover a truck used for business; ask how the chipper is scheduled	$2,436–$3,590 a year per vehicle (Progressive contractors median to Insureon)
Inland marine (tools and equipment)	Theft or damage to saws, ropes, saddles, stump grinders and chippers on the job or in transit	Insureon notes items over $2,500 may need to be scheduled one by one	$155–$670 a year at Insurance Canopy tiers; $637 Insureon figure
Commercial umbrella	Extra liability above GL and auto limits	Used when a contract asks for higher limits than the primary policies carry	No tree-specific published price found
Professional liability	Claims that an assessment, risk report or recommendation was wrong	Relevant for consulting arborists who sign tree risk reports	No tree-specific published price found

Why insurers rate tree care next to logging

BLS counted 99 fatal injuries among tree trimmers and pruners in 2024, up from 84 in 2023 (BLS CFOI table A-5, 2024; 2023). That is nearly twice the 51 deaths among logging workers the same year, in an occupation of only about 89,000 employed people (BLS CPS table 11, 2024 annual average).

BLS does not publish a separate hours-based fatality rate for tree trimmers. Dividing the 99 deaths by the 89,000 employed gives roughly 111 deaths per 100,000 workers. The same arithmetic for all U.S. workers (5,070 deaths, 161.3 million employed) gives about 3.1, so tree trimming runs at about 35 times the all-worker rate. For scale, BLS’s own hours-based 2024 rates are 110.4 for logging workers, 48.7 for roofers, 20.9 for grounds maintenance workers as a group and 3.3 for all workers (BLS CFOI hours-based rates, 2024).

• Tree trimmers and pruners
• Logging workers

Source: BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (series FWU00X3730138ON00 and FWU00X45402X8ON00 for 2011–2022; table A-5 for 2023–2024) Counts, all sectors. Tree trimmers had about 89,000 employed in 2024 (CPS).

Show the numbers

	Tree trimmers and pruners	Logging workers
2011	83	65
2012	71	63
2013	71	59
2014	68	78
2015	66	67
2016	84	91
2017	78	55
2018	77	56
2019	97	46
2020	82	42
2021	78	43
2022	74	54
2023	84	52
2024	99	51

How they died matters for underwriting, because each cause maps to a coverage or an exclusion:

Event (2024)	Tree trimmer deaths	Share
Falls, slips, trips	39	39%
Contact with objects and equipment	39	39%
Exposure to harmful substances or environments (includes electrocution)	12	12%
Transportation incidents	7	7%
Other or not shown separately	2	2%

• Falls from trees and lifts are the reason comp class 0106 is “applicable by job site to tree pruning contracts requiring any aboveground level work” (NCCI item B-1394, see below).
• Exposure deaths include electrocution. OSHA keeps unqualified workers in an elevated position at least 10 feet from overhead lines up to 50 kV (29 CFR 1910.333(c)(3)); OSHA points line-clearance tree trimming to 1910.269 (OSHA), and the trim-only policy priced below excludes work within 15 feet of lines.
• Contact incidents (struck by a falling tree, limb or log, or caught in machinery such as a chipper) matched falls in 2024, at 39 deaths each.

There is no OSHA standard written for tree care. OSHA says the industry “must comply with all the general industry standards (29 CFR 1910)” and lists ANSI Z133 (arboricultural safety) as a voluntary consensus standard that is not an OSHA regulation (OSHA tree care standards page). A tree-care rule has been in the works since a 2008 advance notice; OSHA’s page says the next step is a proposed rule (OSHA tree care rulemaking). Insureon lists documented training and ISA-certified arborists among the things that may lower rates (Insureon).

Tree service workers’ comp: class 0106 rates by state

Workers’ comp is priced per $100 of payroll for each class of work. Most states use the NCCI code 0106 for tree pruning, repairing and trimming; Pennsylvania (0005), North Dakota (0004) and Washington (0106, priced per hour) use their own systems.

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

State	Tree class	Per $100 payroll	Basis	Effective	Landscape class, same basis	Tree vs landscape	Tree trimmer mean wage (May 2025)	Est. comp per full-time tree worker a year	Source
California	0106 Tree pruning, repairing or trimming	12.393	Loss cost	Sept. 1, 2026	5.58 (0042)	2.2×	$63,610	$8,908–$16,555	filing
New Jersey	0106 Tree pruning, spraying, repairing, trimming or fumigating	13.779	Full rate	Jan. 1, 2026	8.973 (0042)	1.5×	$69,760	$9,612	filing
Ohio	0106 Tree pruning, repairing or trimming	6.7604	Full rate	July 1, 2026	2.7014 (0042)	2.5×	$51,230	$3,463	filing
Georgia	0106 Tree pruning, repairing or trimming	6.27	Loss cost	Mar. 1, 2025	3.17 (0042)	2.0×	$46,610	$3,302–$6,137	filing
Massachusetts	0106 Tree pruning, repairing or trimming	5.41	Full rate	July 1, 2024 (still in force)	2.29 (0042)	2.4×	$66,100	$3,576	filing
Pennsylvania	0005 Tree pruning, spraying, repairing or fumigating	5.135	Loss cost	Apr. 1, 2026	2.487 (0012)	2.1×	$59,450	$3,450–$6,411	filing
North Dakota	0004 Tree planting, trimming, harvesting	5.89	Full rate	July 1, 2026	1.05 (0003)	5.6×	$45,130	$2,658	filing
North Carolina	0106 Tree pruning, repairing or trimming	4.8	Loss cost	Apr. 1, 2025	1.93 (0042)	2.5×	$52,020	$2,822–$5,244	filing
Missouri	0106 Tree pruning, repairing or trimming	4.422	Loss cost	Jan. 1, 2026	4.27 (0042)	1.0×	$57,080	$2,852–$5,301	filing
Colorado	0106 Tree pruning, repairing or trimming	4.064	Loss cost	Jan. 1, 2026	2.131 (0042)	1.9×	$54,020	$2,481–$4,610	filing
New York	0106 Tree pruning, repairing or trimming	3.665	Loss cost	Oct. 1, 2026	1.865 (0042)	2.0×	$63,130	$2,614–$4,859	filing
Oregon	0106 Tree/shrub pruning and trimming above ground	3.568	Loss cost	Jan. 1, 2026	2.201 (0042)	1.6×	$73,630	$2,969–$5,517	filing
Texas	0106 Tree pruning, repairing or trimming	1.308	Loss cost	July 1, 2026	0.916 (0042)	1.4×	$42,510	$628–$1,168	filing
Washington	0106 Tree care and pruning services	7.0142 per hour	Full rate, per hour worked	Jan. 1, 2026	2.1811 (0301)	3.2×	$66,980	$14,590 (2,080 hours)	L&I

Annual payroll for tree crew employees (exclude owners who opt out) ($ per year)State and workers' comp classCalifornia, class 0106 tree pruning (loss cost × 1.13–2.10)New Jersey, class 0106 tree pruning (full rate)Ohio, class 0106 tree pruning (full rate)Georgia, class 0106 tree pruning (loss cost × 1.13–2.10)Massachusetts, class 0106 tree pruning (full rate)Pennsylvania, class 0005 tree pruning (loss cost × 1.13–2.10)North Dakota, class 0004 tree pruning (full rate)North Carolina, class 0106 tree pruning (loss cost × 1.13–2.10)Missouri, class 0106 tree pruning (loss cost × 1.13–2.10)Colorado, class 0106 tree pruning (loss cost × 1.13–2.10)New York, class 0106 tree pruning (loss cost × 1.13–2.10)Oregon, class 0106 tree pruning (loss cost × 1.13–2.10)Texas, class 0106 tree pruning (loss cost × 1.13–2.10)California, class 2702 logging (removal-only firms) (loss cost × 1.13–2.10)New Jersey, class 2702 logging (removal-only firms) (full rate)Ohio, class 2702 logging (removal-only firms) (full rate)Missouri, class 2702 logging (removal-only firms) (loss cost × 1.13–2.10)New York, class 2702 logging (removal-only firms) (loss cost × 1.13–2.10)Texas, class 2702 logging (removal-only firms) (loss cost × 1.13–2.10)No employees (owner only, no comp)Experience mod (on your comp policy)1.00: new or small firm with no mod0.85: better-than-expected losses (example)1.25: worse-than-expected losses (example)

Add-ons

General liability, $1M/$2M ($950 to $1,880) Commercial auto, first truck ($2,440 to $3,590) Commercial auto, second truck ($2,440 to $3,590) Tools and equipment (inland marine) ($155 to $670)

Estimated annual premium$27,100 to $49,800

Workers' comp = payroll ÷ 100 × the class figure in our state table × your mod; other lines use insurer-published figures. Excludes assessments, minimum premiums, umbrella and crane or line-clearance endorsements. Washington (per hour) not included. Not a quote; see How we built these numbers.

Three things stand out. California’s 0106 pure premium of 12.393 rose from 11.24 a year earlier (WCIRB 2026), and after any insurer multiplier a California climber costs more to insure than many crews elsewhere. Texas has the lowest figure here, and Texas also lets private employers opt out of comp entirely (Tex. Lab. Code ch. 406). And tree work costs 1.0 to 3.2 times the landscape class in every state shown except North Dakota, which rates landscaping with nurseries and so shows a 5.6× gap.

1. California12.39
2. New Jersey13.78
3. Ohio6.76
4. Georgia6.27
5. Massachusetts5.41
6. Pennsylvania5.14
7. North Dakota5.89
8. North Carolina4.80
9. Missouri4.42
10. Colorado4.06
11. New York3.67
12. Oregon3.57
13. Texas1.31

Source: State rating bureau and state-fund filings, 2024–2026 (WCIRB, NJCRIB, Ohio BWC, NCCI via Ga., Mo., Colo., Tex.; WCRIBMA, PCRB, N.D. WSI, NCRB, NYCIRB, SAIF) Each state pair is on the same basis (loss cost or full rate); compare within a state, not across states. Washington (per hour) excluded.

Show the numbers

	Tree pruning class (0106 or state equivalent)	Landscape class (0042 or state equivalent)
California	12.39	5.58
New Jersey	13.78	8.97
Ohio	6.76	2.70
Georgia	6.27	3.17
Massachusetts	5.41	2.29
Pennsylvania	5.14	2.49
North Dakota	5.89	1.05
North Carolina	4.80	1.93
Missouri	4.42	4.27
Colorado	4.06	2.13
New York	3.67	1.87
Oregon	3.57	2.20
Texas	1.31	0.92

Pruning from the ground vs. climbing: 0106 or 9102

The class turns on where the saw is. NCCI’s wording for 0106 makes it “applicable by job site to tree pruning contracts requiring any aboveground level work,” and it covers the whole contract, chipping and cleanup included. Lawn maintenance code 9102 “also applies to tree pruning if pruning is performed from the ground,” and “the use of walls, ladders, roofs, scaffolds, hoisting equipment, etc., is not considered working from the ground” (NCCI item B-1394 as reproduced in WCRIBMA circular 2384, 2021, PDF pp. 63 and 66). Oregon’s 2010 order quotes the NCCI Scopes the same way: “Code 0106 applies to specialist contractors who use hand tools or mechanical equipment to prune, spray, repair, trim, or fumigate trees” (Oregon order INS 10-11-006).

California draws the same line in its own words: landscape class 0042 includes pruning “when none of the operations at a particular job or location require elevation,” while any job needing ladders, lifts or climbing goes to 0106 (WCIRB class 0042 scope). Because 0106 applies by job site, a lawn crew that takes a pole saw up a ladder is, for that job, doing tree work.

Removal-only companies can land in the logging class

Under NCCI’s wording, incidental removal on a developed site stays in 0106 because the tree is “removed by cutting it into sections,” often with a guide rope. But “Code 0106 is not applicable to a specialty contractor performing tree removal”; those firms go to 2702, Logging or Lumbering. Stump grinding by a specialist moved into 0106 in the same item. The logging figure is far higher:

State	Tree pruning 0106	Logging 2702	Logging vs tree	Basis	Source
California	12.393	19.223	1.6×	Loss cost	WCIRB approved pure premium rates, Sept. 1, 2026
New Jersey	13.779	21.445	1.6×	Full rate	NJCRIB 2026 rate and classification handbook
Ohio	6.7604	11.2599	1.7×	Full rate	Ohio Adm. Code 4123-17-06, App. A (BWC base rates, July 1, 2026)
Georgia	6.27	9.08	1.4×	Loss cost	Ga. SBWC, NCCI loss costs eff. Mar. 1, 2025
Massachusetts	5.41	12.17	2.2×	Full rate	WCRIBMA circular 2432 (rates eff. July 1, 2024)
North Carolina	4.8	9.52	2.0×	Loss cost	NCRB loss costs and assigned-risk rates, Apr. 1, 2025
Missouri	4.422	12.807	2.9×	Loss cost	Mo. DCI, NCCI loss costs eff. Jan. 1, 2026
Colorado	4.064	6.989	1.7×	Loss cost	NCCI Colorado loss cost filing, Jan. 1, 2026
New York	3.665	4.859	1.3×	Loss cost	NYCIRB circular RC 2659 (Oct. 1, 2026)
Oregon	3.568	7.897	2.2×	Loss cost	SAIF table of Oregon pure premiums, Jan. 1, 2026
Texas	1.308	3.505	2.7×	Loss cost	TDI, NCCI Texas loss costs eff. July 1, 2026

The practical point: classification follows what the business actually does, so if most of your revenue is removals, say so on the application rather than leave it for the year-end payroll audit to find.

Ohio, North Dakota and Washington: buy from the state

In these three states, comp comes only from the state fund. Ohio’s base rate for 0106 is $6.7604 per $100 before assessments (Ohio Adm. Code 4123-17-06). North Dakota puts tree trimming, pruning, stump grinding and tree removal in class 0004 at $5.89 per $100, capped at $46,600 of payroll per worker (WSI 2026 rates; WSI classification manual). Washington charges $7.0142 per hour worked for class 0106 in 2026, up 8% from $6.4751, and part of that comes out of the worker’s pay (L&I 2026 rates).

When the law requires comp for a tree crew

Most states require comp from the first employee. Several set a higher bar: Alabama five (Ala. Code 25-5-50), Missouri five for non-construction employers (RSMo 287.030), Georgia three (Ga. SBWC) and North Carolina three (N.C. Industrial Commission). Florida is the trap: landscape class 0042 is on its construction list, which means coverage from one employee, but 0106 is not (Fla. Admin. Code 69L-6.021), so a pure tree firm falls under the four-employee rule for non-construction businesses (Fla. DWC). Texas makes comp optional, but a non-subscriber loses key defenses if an injured worker sues (Tex. Lab. Code ch. 406). A client contract can still require a comp certificate where the state does not.

How much is tree service insurance per month?

For a tree service with no employees, published figures put liability, one truck and equipment at roughly $295 to $511 a month. Insureon’s tree service customers pay a median of $156 a month for general liability and $215 a month for workers’ comp (Insureon, updated Sept. 30, 2026). Payroll for climbers, not the GL bill, decides the total.

Coverage	Monthly	Annual	Who it describes	Publisher
General liability ($1M/$2M, $500 deductible)	$156	$1,875	tree care businesses buying through Insureon	Insureon
Workers’ compensation	$215	$2,580	tree service professionals	Insureon
Commercial auto	$299	$3,590	landscaping companies including tree services	Insureon
Tools and equipment	$53	$637	tree care and other landscaping businesses	Insureon
Business owner’s policy	$92	$1,101	landscaping professionals	Insureon
License and permit bonds	$9	$112	landscaping companies	Insureon
General liability, base $1M/$2M	$33.75	$375	Insurance Canopy published price (lawn and landscaping base)	Insurance Canopy
Tree trimming add-on	$48	$576	Trees up to 30 ft; excludes removals, stump grinding, arborist work and trimming within 15 ft of power lines	Insurance Canopy
Additional insured, each	$0.83	$10	Per certificate holder added to the policy	Insurance Canopy
Commercial auto, contractors	$203 median	$2,436	2025 new policies, per vehicle, liability and physical damage	Progressive

1. General liability ($1M/$2M, $500 deductible)156
2. Workers' compensation215
3. Commercial auto299
4. Tools and equipment53
5. Business owner's policy92
6. License and permit bonds9

Source: Insureon tree service insurance cost page, updated Sept. 30, 2026 Broker-published figures for its own customers; auto, BOP and bonds describe landscaping customers broadly.

Show the numbers

	Monthly premium
General liability ($1M/$2M, $500 deductible)	156
Workers' compensation	215
Commercial auto	299
Tools and equipment	53
Business owner's policy	92
License and permit bonds	9

Three worked budgets

Business	Workers’ comp	General liability	Commercial auto	Equipment	Total a year
Owner-operator, trims only, no employees	$0 (no employees)	$951–$1,875	$2,436–$3,590	$155–$670	$3,542–$6,135
3 climbers in Texas, $167,910 payroll	$2,482–$4,612	$1,875	$4,872–$7,180 (2 trucks)	$670	$9,899–$14,337
3 climbers in Ohio, $167,910 payroll	$11,351	$1,875	$4,872–$7,180 (2 trucks)	$670	$18,768–$21,076
3 climbers in California, $167,910 payroll	$23,514–$43,699	$1,875	$4,872–$7,180 (2 trucks)	$670	$30,931–$53,424

The California crew pays more for comp than the solo owner pays for everything else combined, several times over. That is why tree companies fight hard over class assignment and payroll splits, and why a shop that does both lawn and tree work keeps separate payroll records: NCCI allows the lower class only “when separation of payroll exists” (NCCI B-1394).

How much is $1,000,000 liability insurance a month for a tree service?

Published figures for $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate run from about $82 a month (Insurance Canopy’s $33.75 base plus its $48 tree trimming add-on, for trees up to 30 feet with no removals) to Insureon’s $156 a month median for tree care customers. A company that removes trees, uses a crane or works near lines should expect to be quoted above that range, often in the excess and surplus market (Progressive).

General liability for tree service: the exclusions to read first

Cheap tree service insurance is usually cheap because of what it leaves out. Insurance Canopy’s published add-on is a clean example: it covers trimming “shrubs and trees up to 30 feet,” and it “excludes removals, stump grinding, arborist work, and tree trimming within 15ft of power lines.” Its FAQ adds that “some policies exclude crane picks, aerial-lift work, or rigging unless specifically endorsed” (Insurance Canopy). Progressive notes tree services often need GL from the excess and surplus market (Progressive).

Exposure	What published policies say	What to ask the agent
Tree removal	Trim-only policies exclude it outright	Confirm removals are a listed operation, with no height cap below the trees you take down
Height limit	30 ft on Insurance Canopy’s add-on	Match the cap to your tallest regular job, not your average one
Work near power lines	Excluded within 15 ft on Insurance Canopy’s add-on	OSHA’s 10 ft minimum applies to unqualified workers anyway; line clearance needs qualified staff and its own endorsement
Crane picks, aerial lifts, rigging	Excluded on some policies unless endorsed	Name each one on the application and get the endorsement in writing
Stump grinding	Excluded on Insurance Canopy’s add-on	Ask whether damage to buried utility lines is covered
Damage to the property you are working on	Not addressed on the published pages we read	Ask how the policy treats the client’s tree, lawn and driveway under your equipment
Storm and emergency work	NCCI has a separate 0106 phrasing for pruning and removal after a natural catastrophe, and sends heavy-equipment debris clearing to 6217	Confirm storm cleanup and debris hauling are listed operations on both comp and GL

If your crew handles storm damage, read our emergency tree removal guide for how those jobs are priced, and price the insurance side of storm work before the season, not during it.

Tree service insurance requirements by state license

A handful of states make insurance a condition of the tree license itself. Where a state licenses tree work, the license board can pull it if coverage lapses.

State	License	Insurance required	Notes	Source
New Jersey	Tree care business registration (Board of Tree Experts)	$1,000,000 general liability or a $1,000,000 letter of credit, plus workers’ comp under the applicable NJCRIB class	Certificate must show liability code 99777 and comp code 0106; registration fee $200 every two years	N.J.A.C. 7:3A-2.11; renewal form
Maryland	Licensed tree expert	Liability and property damage insurance “in the form and amount required by the Department”	The licensee must report the insurance and workers’ comp of every company working under the license	Md. Nat. Res. 5-418; 5-417
Louisiana	Arborist and utility arborist licenses	“Proof of current and sufficient general liability and workers compensation insurance, if applicable”	Covers removal, pruning, trimming, cabling, fertilization and cavity work; $125 license fee a year	La. Dept. of Agriculture and Forestry

Most states have no tree-specific license, but tree work can still fall under contractor or pesticide licensing (tree spraying is pesticide application). Our landscaping license requirements by state covers those rules, and homeowners can use our steps to check a contractor’s license before hiring.

Commercial auto for bucket trucks and chippers

Insureon’s figure for landscaping companies including tree services is $299 a month, $3,590 a year (Insureon); Progressive reports a $203 monthly median per vehicle for contractors on 2025 new policies (Progressive). Two tree-specific points:

• A truck and chipper with a combined weight rating of 10,001 lb or more used across state lines is a commercial motor vehicle (49 CFR 390.5) and needs a USDOT number; FMCSA lists states that require one for intrastate carriers too (FMCSA).
• Ask whether damage caused by the aerial device while the truck is parked and working falls under the auto policy or the general liability policy, and get the answer in writing.

Ways to lower tree service insurance without gutting coverage

• Split payroll by class with real time records. Ground-only pruning and lawn work can go to 9102 or 0042 only where payroll is kept separately.
• Protect the experience mod. Once a firm is experience-rated, its claims feed the mod that multiplies its comp premium.
• Put safety on paper. Insureon names documented training, equipment maintenance and ISA-certified arborists among things that may lower rates; OSHA lists ANSI Z133 as the reference standard.
• Buy the limits your contracts require. If a city, utility or property manager asks for more than $1M per occurrence, price an umbrella against a higher primary limit.
• Bid it in. Comp and GL are job costs; our guide to bidding landscaping jobs shows how to load overhead into a price, and our landscaper salary data gives the wage side. More operator guides sit in our business section.

This page is general information, not insurance, legal or safety advice. Rates, classes and license rules change; confirm with a licensed agent and the agency linked for your state before you buy coverage or bid work.