Loss of trees through home insurance claims

Part of: Tree protection

Home insurance claims for tree roots causing damage to properties is a serious threat to hundreds of trees in Haringey. Sadly, this tends to threaten some of our oldest, most valuable, beautiful trees. 

Haringey has the second highest number of tree root claims in the whole of London.  

There is a process we follow when an insurance claim is made against one of our trees and it’s designed to avoid cutting down the tree, if possible.

Step one: an insurance claim is made  

When an insurance claim is made, we:

  • First confirm who owns the tree, the maintenance schedule in place, when pruning was last undertaken and when it is next due 
  • If not already supplied, we ask for detailed evidence to support the claim
  • Assess the condition of the tree and its overall value. If the tree is in a poor condition or has a limited life expectancy, we may move to step 5 (cutting down a tree)
  • Carry out pruning works

Step two: review the detailed evidence   

The evidence we'll ask for to support a claim includes:

  • An engineer’s report showing:
    • Location of damage 
    • BRE category – used to help decide if any cracks affect the property and what repairs are proposed
    • Level monitoring
    • Drainage survey 
  • A plan and profile of the property foundations
  • A site plan indicating the location of the structure in relation to trees and other vegetation nearby
  •  A tree survey (arboricultural report) 
  • The results of soil investigation tests confirming the:
    • Profile
    • Moisture content
    • Plasticity index
    • Desiccation
    • Tree root identification 

Step three: we may ask for further evidence   

Where the evidence provided is not strong enough, we'll:

  • Ask for further evidence
  • Continue to maintain the tree
  • Request that the insurers continue to monitor the level of the building to show whether there is seasonal movement and confirm whether trees or vegetation are contributing

Step four: interventions we may make to avoid cutting the tree down   

  • If crown reduction has already been done, this will be repeated
  • Increase the frequency of pruning
  • Further reduce the overall size of the tree below its previous pruning points. This is predominantly for larger tree species, e.g. London plane, Lime and Maple.
  • Request level monitoring readings over a longer period to show if further seasonal movement is occurring. 

(Crown reduction or pollarding limits the amount of moisture being extracted from the soil. This can reduce or stop damage occurring to adjacent buildings.)

Step five: cutting down a tree and the Duty to Consult  

  • On occasions, we are sadly forced to cut down trees that are contributing to tree root claims, as the alternative is the council having to spend millions of ‘taxpayers’ money underpinning homes
  • Local authorities in England now have a statutory ‘Duty to Consult’ with residents on the felling of street trees, where no exemptions apply
  • In most cases, those trees contributing to damage and identified within a claim are healthy, these would not meet the exemption criteria. Therefore, we will carry out a consultation process as outlined in the legislation
  • Only a small number of trees are felled as part of an insurance claims, which is currently around 20 trees each year
  • We plant 100’s of new trees each year, as part of our planting programme, some of these will be to replace those removed due to tree root claims. If it is not possible to plant a new tree in the same location, we will aim to do it elsewhere in the same road

Underpinning a home   

If the tree is retained, the building will need to be protected from the trees’ roots. One solution is to ‘underpin’, putting in stronger foundations. It's important to know that:

  • During underpinning works the occupiers are rehomed until the works are completed
  • This tends to be for older houses (pre-20th century) which have much shallower foundations
  • Underpinning is major structural work, and the cost can vary significantly, depending on the building, land and other factors