How to Tell If a Connecticut Tree Service Is Actually Insured

Not legal or insurance advice. See full disclaimer below.

The Short Answer

Every tree company will tell you they're "fully insured." Most homeowners take a photo of a certificate, glance at the dates, and move on. That's exactly how someone ends up on the hook for a workman's back injury, a neighbor's fence, or a hole in their own roof that the "insured" crew's policy doesn't actually cover.

A Certificate of Insurance (COI) is a snapshot, not a guarantee. The policy behind it can be cancelled the day after the certificate is printed, and under Connecticut law, nobody is required to tell you. The word "insured" on the certificate covers three separate policies (General Liability, Workers Compensation, and Auto), each with its own gaps, and the wrong class code on any of them can void your protection for the specific job you hired for.

Below is the checklist I wish every homeowner used before hiring anyone in this trade. It takes about 15 minutes and it can save you from a lawsuit.

"Fully Insured" Doesn't Mean What You Think It Means

The Certificate of Insurance form nearly every contractor hands out is called an ACORD 25. It's a one-page industry-standard document that shows policy numbers, carriers, coverage types, and expiration dates. It looks official because it is. It's just not a live status check.

Since a 2009 revision to the form, the cancellation-notice box on the ACORD 25 reads "NOTICE WILL BE DELIVERED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE POLICY PROVISIONS." Translation: the insurance company doesn't automatically owe YOU (the homeowner listed as a certificate holder) any warning if the tree company's policy gets cancelled. They owe that notice to the tree company under Connecticut General Statute 38a-343 (45 days for standard cancellation, 10 to 15 days for nonpayment). To you? Nothing.

That gap is where the fraud lives. A tree company can buy a policy in April, get a valid COI with a December expiration date, stop paying premiums in May, and the policy gets cancelled. The paper you received in April still shows valid dates through year-end. When they knock on your door in July after a storm and show you that "valid" certificate, they're not lying about the paper. The paper is real. The coverage is gone.

The Three Policies Every Real CT Tree Service Should Carry

When someone tells you they're insured, ask which of the three they mean, because each covers a different failure mode and any missing leg shifts the risk to you.

General Liability (GL) covers damage the crew does to your property. A branch through the bay window. A truck rutting the lawn. A stump grinder chipping the driveway. Industry norm for a professional tree service is seven-figure per-occurrence limits.

Workers Compensation (WC) covers injuries to the crew members while they're working on your property. This is the big one. Under Connecticut General Statute 31-284, every employer has to carry it. Willful failure to insure, or misclassifying employees as independent contractors to dodge it, is a Class D felony in Connecticut under CGS 31-288. This isn't a paperwork nicety. If your tree crew doesn't have WC and someone gets hurt in your yard, that injured worker's next call is to a plaintiff's lawyer, and your homeowners policy is going to fight coverage under business-pursuits and workers-comp-eligibility exclusions.

Commercial Auto covers the trucks. A tree crew often does more mileage than damage, and an at-fault accident on the way to or from your property can drag your home address into the paperwork.

Ask for all three. A contractor who "has insurance" and can only produce GL is a contractor with a hole in the middle of the policy stack.

Why a Landscaper's Policy Won't Cover Real Tree Work

Insurance is priced by risk class. In workers compensation, the National Council on Compensation Insurance uses a specific code, NCCI 0106 (Tree Pruning, Spraying, Repairing), for commercial tree work. The moment any operation goes off the ground, ALL crew payroll (including the groundies handling brush) flows to code 0106, which carries a much higher premium than NCCI 0042 (Landscape Gardening). Landscape 0042 applies only when no operation requires elevation.

Practical version: a company running on a landscaping policy that never elevated its class code is paying too little in premium and is not properly rated for tree work. Any tree-work claim on that policy is likely to be denied.

The same story plays out with general liability. Landscaper GL policies commonly cap covered work at 8 to 15 feet of height, and anything above that can void coverage for that operation. Add a crane, an aerial lift, or a bucket truck and you may need a specific endorsement or a riggers-liability rider before that equipment is even on your driveway.

Ask what the description of operations on the policy actually says. You want the words "tree trimming, pruning, and removal," not just "landscaping" or "lawn care." If the class is landscaping only, that's a coverage red flag for any real tree job.

The Free Connecticut Verification Toolkit (15 Minutes, Zero Cost)

Before you sign anything, run these four free CT state lookups. Anyone who fails one is not a company you want on your property.

1. CT DEEP Arborist License at elicense.ct.gov. Connecticut General Statutes 23-61a through 23-61m require a state Arborist License to solicit, advertise, or contract for commercial tree pruning, cabling, fertilizing, or spraying. The civil penalty for practicing arboriculture without it is $1,000 to $2,500 per day the violation continues. Look up the company or the individual's name. If the tree company can't tell you their arborist license number, they don't have one.

2. CT Workers Comp Coverage at ewccv.com/cvs/. This is the Coverage Verification Service run by the CT Workers Compensation Commission. It's free, it takes ten seconds, and it tells you whether that specific business currently has active workers comp coverage. Most homeowners have never heard of this tool. It exists precisely so you can protect yourself.

3. CT Business Entity Status at service.ct.gov/business/s/onlinebusinesssearch. Search the exact legal name the contractor is using. If the entity is inactive, dissolved, or doesn't exist as an LLC or corporation, and they're operating under a business name anyway, that's a red flag. The old CONCORD portal is retired; use business.ct.gov.

4. CT Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) Registration at elicense.ct.gov. Not every tree service registers as an HIC (tree work is primarily a DEEP-regulated activity), but many legitimate ones do because HIC opens up broader property-improvement scope. HIC registration requires the contractor to carry general liability insurance of at least $20,000 as a floor.

If it takes you 15 minutes and the company clears all four, you've eliminated the vast majority of storm chasers before they show up.

The ACORD 25 Certificate, and Why You Can't Just Trust It

Even after all four state lookups pass, you still want the actual certificate. The right way to get one is not from the contractor's hand. The right way is to have their insurance agent email it directly to you, and then to call the agent using the phone number printed on the certificate (not one the contractor writes down for you) and confirm the policy is in force TODAY.

That single phone call defeats 90 percent of stale-COI fraud. A contractor who tries to talk you out of it ("you don't need to bother the agent, here's the cert") is telling you exactly what they're worried about.

Two more asks that separate professionals from opportunists.

Ask to be added as Additional Insured for this specific job. A legitimate tree company will do this for free or for a small endorsement fee. The endorsements you want by name are CG 20 10 (additional insured for ongoing operations) and CG 20 37 (additional insured for completed operations). If they just add your name in the free-text description box on the COI without those endorsements, you have no coverage. Ask for copies of the actual endorsements, not just the certificate that references them.

Ask for the workers comp certificate to name your address as certificate holder. Same play. That way if the policy gets cancelled during your project, at least you have a paper trail.

Why Under-the-Table Crews Are Your Problem

A common pattern in tree work: one licensed name on the paperwork, actual labor performed by a rotating cast of subcontractors or cash day-laborers who aren't on any payroll. It saves the contractor 30 to 40 percent in workers comp premium. It transfers all of that saved risk onto the homeowner.

Here's the mechanic. When an uninsured worker gets hurt on your property, their first stop is the tree contractor's WC carrier. When there is no WC carrier, or when the worker isn't a covered "employee" under the policy, the next stop is your homeowners policy. Your HO-3 is going to fight coverage under business-pursuits and workers-comp-eligibility exclusions. Best case, your insurer defends the claim. Worst case, you're paying legal fees and potentially damages out of pocket.

Connecticut law CGS 31-291 has a "statutory employer" doctrine that theoretically applies when work is "part of the trade or business" of the principal employer. A private residence almost never satisfies that prong, so you're not likely to be forced into direct WC liability. But that legal argument still costs money to make, and an injured worker with medical bills and no employer to sue will look at everyone in reach, including you.

The workers comp lookup at ewccv.com/cvs is your first line of defense here. Run it. If it returns nothing, walk away.

When You Need Crane, Bucket, or Line-Clearance Work

Standard arborist policies often exclude or restrict specific high-risk operations. Three that matter most for CT homeowners:

Crane-assisted removals. Common for large-diameter trees over houses or in tight lots. A tree-work COI that doesn't specifically reference crane operations may not cover a crane job. Ask specifically: "Is crane-assisted removal on your policy?"

Aerial lift and bucket truck work. Elevation coverage matters here for the same reason as class-code differences above. Most legitimate tree services carry appropriate coverage; a "landscaping" outfit trying to rent a bucket for the day likely doesn't.

Utility line-clearance work. Under ANSI Z133, arborists are categorized into four electrical-worker levels. Level 1 (unqualified) cannot work within 10 feet of communication, secondary, or primary lines. Utility line-clearance work is Level 4 and requires a distinct qualification. If your job is anywhere near a service drop or a primary line, ask what level qualification the crew holds, and ask whether the utility (Eversource) has been coordinated with. A well-meaning crew that isn't line-qualified is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Post-Storm Scams Are a Real CT Pattern

This isn't paranoia. It's an active pattern that Connecticut agencies flag repeatedly.

On July 7, 2026, CT Attorney General William Tong and DCP Commissioner Bryan Cafferelli issued a joint "Common Clean Up Scams" alert specifically naming door-to-door tree-removal offers as a top scam pattern following the recent storms. Tong: "Take your time and always verify that a contractor is legitimate, licensed, and has a detailed contract in writing."

The August 2024 Naugatuck Valley flood produced a similar alert from CT DCP, which listed six red flags: cash / wire / untraceable payment demands, refusal to provide a written contract, "too-low-if-you-commit-today" pricing, unsolicited door-knocking, no verifiable references, and high-pressure tactics.

The pattern is consistent. Storm hits, out-of-state crews with rented equipment or magnetic door signs show up in neighborhoods, they collect deposits, they either walk away without finishing, do sloppy work no one will insure, or use an Assignment of Benefits contract to hijack your insurance claim after the fact.

Do not sign anything on the day someone knocks. Do not pay cash for anything over a nominal amount. Do not sign an Assignment of Benefits. And do not skip the four state lookups above just because you're in a hurry to get the tree off your roof.

Fraud Red Flags Cheat Sheet

Save this. Run through it before hiring:

• COI hand-delivered by the contractor instead of emailed direct from the agent
• "Producer" box on the COI names the contractor themselves or a related entity
• COI names the wrong legal entity, a personal name, or a business name that doesn't exist on business.ct.gov
• Landscaping-only class code with no tree-work description on the policy
• No workers compensation shown, or the ewccv.com/cvs/ lookup returns nothing
• Refuses to be added as Additional Insured with a CG 20 10 / CG 20 37 endorsement
• Verbal-only insurance claims ("yeah we're fully insured, don't worry")
• No written contract offered
• Cash-only, wire, or gift-card payment for anything above a nominal amount
• Large deposit demanded up front before work starts
• Door-knocking after a storm without a prior appointment
• Out-of-state plates, no permanent local address, no CT business entity
• Truck signage that matches a rental company (rented equipment with someone else's brand still on the door)
• Asks you to sign an Assignment of Benefits form
• Pressure to sign today
• BBB record of unresolved complaints, or no BBB presence at all
• Not listed at arborists.ctpa.org and not searchable at elicense.ct.gov as either an Arborist or an HIC

What a Legitimate CT Tree Service Will Happily Do When You Ask

Here's the flip side of the red flags. A real pro will not flinch at any of this:

• Email the COI directly from the agent's office to your inbox
• Let you call the carrier to verify the policy is in force today
• Provide the DEEP Arborist license number without hesitation
• Add you as Additional Insured with the proper CG 20 10 + CG 20 37 endorsements
• Provide a written contract with per-tree scope, price, work dates, cleanup terms, and a payment schedule
• Answer questions about crane / bucket / line-clearance qualifications specifically
• Have a permanent business address, a business.ct.gov entity in good standing, and (usually) BBB accreditation, CTPA membership, or both
• Not pressure you into signing on the spot

How to Report an Unlicensed CT Tree Contractor

Reporting the bad actors is how the good ones stay competitive. Two channels:

CTPA (CT Tree Protection Association) accepts confidential complaints and forwards them to CT DEEP. Because CTPA becomes the official complainant, your identity is protected. Contact: arborists.ctpa.org and their "Report Unlicensed Tree Work" form.

CT DEEP directly: email deep.pesticideprogram@ct.gov or call 860-424-3699. This is the Division of Pesticide Management and Tree Protection Examining Board. the regulator with statutory teeth.

For contract fraud, price-gouging, or Assignment of Benefits abuse, add CT DCP (Department of Consumer Protection) to the list at portal.ct.gov/dcp.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to reach us

MacKenzie Tree, LLC. Prospect, CT. Fully licensed CT DEEP arborist, full General Liability + Workers Compensation + Commercial Auto, decades in the trade under my daughter MacKenzie's name.

Call (203) 395-8153 or [book online](https://mackenzietree.com/contact.html). Ask for the COI direct from our agent. Verify us at elicense.ct.gov and ewccv.com/cvs. That's the whole point.

Chris Jackson Owner and Operator, MacKenzie Tree, LLC

Legal and insurance disclaimer

This blog post is written by Chris Jackson, owner of MacKenzie Tree, LLC in Prospect, CT. a licensed CT arborist and small-business owner, not a lawyer or a licensed insurance agent. Everything here is general information based on Connecticut law, industry standards, and 15+ years running a family tree service. Insurance policies, statutes, and enforcement priorities change, and every job has its own facts. Before you hire any contractor for tree work (including us), verify their licenses at elicense.ct.gov, verify their workers compensation coverage at ewccv.com/cvs, and if you have a specific insurance or liability question about your property, talk to your own attorney or your own insurance agent. Nothing in this post is legal advice, insurance advice, or a substitute for either.

Sources

• CT Attorney General + DCP. "Common Clean Up Scams" alert (2026-07-07): https://portal.ct.gov/ag/press-releases/2026-press-releases/common-clean-up-scams
• CT DCP. Storm and flood scam alert (2024-08-19): https://portal.ct.gov/dcp/news-releases-from-the-department-of-consumer-protection/2024-news-releases/be-aware-of-scammers-following-storm-and-flood-damage-in-connecticut
• CT DEEP. Commercial Arborist License: https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Pesticides/Arborist/Commercial-Arborist-License
• CT eLicense lookup (DEEP Arborist + DCP HIC): https://www.elicense.ct.gov/Lookup/LicenseLookup.aspx
• CT WCC. Coverage Verification Service: https://www.ewccv.com/cvs/
• CT business entity search (business.ct.gov): https://service.ct.gov/business/s/onlinebusinesssearch
• CT DCP. Home Improvement Contractor for Consumers: https://portal.ct.gov/dcp/trade-practices-division/home-improvement-for-consumers
• CTPA. Arborist Law of CT: https://ctpa.org/arborist-law-ct/
• CTPA. Report Unlicensed Tree Work: https://ctpa.org/report-unlicensed-tree-work/
• CGS Title 31 (Workers Comp): https://law.justia.com/codes/connecticut/title-31/chapter-568/
• CGS § 31-288 (WC penalty): https://codes.findlaw.com/ct/title-31-labor/ct-gen-st-sect-31-288/
• CGS § 38a-343 (cancellation notice to named insured): https://law.justia.com/codes/connecticut/title-38a/chapter-700/section-38a-343-formerly-sec-38-175h/
• CGS §§ 23-61a,23-61m (arborist licensing): https://www.cga.ct.gov/2023/pub/chap_451.htm
• NY DFS. ACORD 25 (2025-12 revision): https://www.dfs.ny.gov/apps-and-licensing/insurance-companies/certificates-approved/acord-25-2025-12-liability
• NY DFS. Certificate of Insurance opinion (OGCO 2000): https://www.dfs.ny.gov/insurance/ogco2000/rg009081.htm
• WCIRB. Tree operations class code 0106 vs 0042: https://www.wcirb.com/e-newsletters/tree-operations-how-classifications-0106-and-0042-apply
• TotalCSR. CG 20 10 additional insured endorsement: https://totalcsr.com/insurance-agency-blog/cg-20-10-additional-insured-for-completed-operations/
• TotalCSR. CG 20 37 completed operations endorsement: https://totalcsr.com/insurance-agency-blog/cg-20-37-additional-insured-for-completed-operations/
• TCIA. ANSI Z133 electrical worker levels: https://tcimag.tcia.org/safety/part-5-work-practices-near-utility-conductors-different-categories-of-tree-workers/
• Great American Insurance. how to spot a fake COI: https://www.greatamericaninsurancegroup.com/content-hub/loss-control/details/how-to-spot-a-fake-certificate-of-insurance