Tree removal prices, red flags

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - In the rush to remove fallen trees that have damaged properties across Western Massachusetts, several contractors are coming to town looking for work. For an East Forest Park family, they hired tree removal contractors who came knocking on their door from Connecticut.

“I’d be very concerned the fact that they’re not licensed here,” said Joe Leahy of Leahy and Brown Insurance and Realty. “Especially tree removal, if one of those employees falls off the roof of your house and is injured and there is no worker’s comp coverage, they’re more than likely going to go after the homeowner, who’s the innocent party in the whole thing.”

The Connecticut tree removers charged $6,000 dollars to remove four tall trees. Leahy said their charges were on the high end, but “borderline reasonable.”

Insurers have been seeing receipts that range from all over the place for tree removal, everything from as low as $500 dollars for one tree to as high as $10,000 dollars and that’s where things get questionable.

Insurers say homeowners will have a better chance to shop for the right contractor now that a week has passed since the tornado hit. Insurance agents advise hiring from Massachusetts licensed contractors, but also make sure that they don’t pressure you into signing a contract right away, even if they are local, because that is also a red flag for something illegitimate.

“Work with a member of the home builder’s association, ask your friends about qualified contractors, try to work with someone you know or someone you’ve worked with in the past,” said William Trudeau, a licensed insurance advisor at the Insurance Center of New England. “It’s not a bad idea to ask for a certificate of insurance to see that the person has worker’s compensation coverage and general liability coverage to show that they are a legitimate operation.”