All homeowners are responsible for ensuring any trees lying within the boundaries of their property are safe and unlikely to cause injury to people or property. Hiring the services of a tree surgeon to tackle any felling or to assess the health of your tree not only protects your family and those who visit or pass-by your property from injury, it will also protect your liability. This means that if you’ve made every effort to make a tree safe and have used an experienced and qualified tree surgeon, then you should not be held responsible financially for any accidents or injuries or damage to public highways, all of which could run into millions of pounds.

One of the most important questions homeowners need to ask themselves when considering which tree surgeon to hire is whether the tree surgeon is insured. Tree surgery businesses or self-employed tree surgeons should be insured for £5million which is the accepted level of liability in the industry.

As a customer you should always ask to see a copy of their current certificates for public liability (covering personal and property damage) and employers’ liability (in the case of a business with multiple tree surgeon contractors). Failure to make adequate checks on a tree surgeon’s insurance status will see you held personally liable for any damage or injuries which happen while they are at work on your tree.

Tree surgery is extremely dangerous due to the heights involved and the machinery used. This is another reason why homeowners with little or no experience should leave it to the experts. Professional tree surgeons will adhere to strict regulations relating to health and safety to protect themselves and those around them. While on the job, they will use warning signs and cones to maximise safety and will liaise with the local authority when disruption is likely to be caused to passing traffic, in some cases arranging for temporary traffic lights or other measures. Tree surgeons often have formal training in first aid at work in the event of an accident or injury.

Aside from health and safety, hiring a tree surgeon is the best option for the health of your trees. Poor tree care including overzealous pruning can have dire consequences to long-term tree health and it’s better to invest in experience and knowledgeable TLC. Tree surgeons should have various tree surgery qualifications depending on the focus of their work. The most commonly-held industry qualifications are the National Proficiency Test Council certificates of competence which cover a range of specialisms from chainsaw operations and tree climbing to aerial rescue. Tree surgeons may also belong to official trade bodies which provide a quality assurance.

A tree surgeon understands the restrictions relating to Tree Preservation Orders (TPO) and will liaise with local authorities to take any additional stress or confusion away and acquire any permission on your behalf. If you’re planning to fell a protected tree without hiring a tree surgeon and fail to gain consent then you could be liable for prosecution.