Income Protection for Tree Surgeons

Every trade on this site has risks. Tree surgery has the ones that end careers in a single afternoon.

Climbing on rope and harness, cutting above yourself with a saw that does not stop quickly, taking weight on limbs that may be rotten, working near power lines and over roofs. It is skilled, controlled work done by careful people, and the consequences when it goes wrong are not sprains.

Income protection pays monthly while you cannot work. For an arborist the question is less whether to have it and more how long it would need to pay for.

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The short answer

Tree surgery puts a running chainsaw, a rope and a height into the same moment, which is a combination no other trade has. The injuries are severe rather than gradual, and a self-employed arborist has no sick pay behind them. Income protection replaces a monthly amount while you cannot work, and in this trade it is worth arranging with a serious, long absence in mind rather than a short one.

What actually stops you working

Chainsaw injuries, which in this trade are to the leg, arm or face rather than to a finger
Falls from height, including rope and harness failures and anchor points in rotten wood
Being struck by falling limbs, which is the commonest cause of serious injury on the ground
Chipper injuries while feeding brash, which are catastrophic rather than serious
Hand-arm vibration from daily saw use across years
Hearing loss and eye injuries from sustained exposure

Sick pay, if you get any

Nothing for the self-employed. Arborists frequently work in small teams where everybody is self-employed, so an injury removes your income entirely and reduces the team's capacity at the same time, which means the work goes elsewhere rather than waiting.

Why the definition of incapacity decides it

Climbing and cutting require full physical capability and nerve, and both can be lost without any other part of life being affected. Somebody who has recovered from a serious fall may be entirely able to work and entirely unable to go back up a rope. An any occupation definition will call that fit. For this trade the distinction is the single most important thing in the contract.

This Is The Most Dangerous Job On This Site

It is worth saying directly rather than dressing it up, because it should change what cover an arborist buys.

No other trade here combines working at height, a tool that cuts through limbs in a second, unpredictable material that may be rotten inside, and a requirement to make judgements while suspended on a rope. The serious injuries in tree work are life-changing rather than inconvenient, and they happen to experienced climbers rather than to beginners.

So the planning question is not what happens if you are off for two months. It is what happens if you are off for two years, or never climb again, and whether the cover you are buying would still be paying at that point. That is a conversation about benefit periods and about having a lump sum alongside the monthly one.

The Ground Crew Is Not The Safe Job

There is a common assumption that the climber takes the risk and the groundsman is fine, and the injury figures do not support it.

Being struck by falling limbs is one of the commonest causes of serious injury in tree work, and it happens on the ground. Feeding a chipper is the other, and it is responsible for some of the worst injuries in any trade. Both involve somebody doing a routine task while something above or in front of them behaves unexpectedly.

So cover matters for the whole team rather than just the person in the tree, and it is worth being accurate about what your role actually involves rather than assuming groundwork reads as lower risk.

If you stop

A two or three person team cannot operate a climber down, so the team either stops or replaces you. Domestic work booked for the autumn goes to whoever can take it, and commercial and council contracts are not held open for an individual.

The Trade Where This Is Not Theoretical

Most pages on this site discuss life cover as the thing that protects a household from an unlikely event. In tree surgery it is less unlikely.

Arboriculture carries one of the higher fatal injury rates of any land-based occupation, and the people doing it are frequently young, self-employed and supporting families, with no death in service and no business anybody would buy. The kit is worth less than the finance on it and the customer list goes nowhere.

So this is the trade where arranging life cover early and at a sensible figure matters most, and where leaving it until the mortgage feels affordable is the least defensible version of waiting.

Capital For A Life That Changed Shape

A serious fall or saw injury in this trade does not usually produce a recovery and a return. It produces a different life.

Spinal injury, amputation or a head injury means adapting a house, retraining entirely, and often a partner reducing their hours to help. Monthly income replacement does not reach any of that, because it is designed to bridge an absence rather than to fund a permanent change.

That is what the lump sum is for, and in tree surgery it is arguably the more important of the two covers rather than the optional extra after income protection.

Common questions

Can tree surgeons get income protection?+

Yes, though it is rated as the high-risk occupation it is, and insurers differ considerably on climbing and chainsaw work. That variation is the reason to go through a broker rather than one provider, because the same details can come back very differently. We cannot promise acceptance or say in advance where a particular insurer will place arboriculture.

Is the ground crew safer than the climber?+

Not as much as people assume. Being struck by falling limbs is one of the commonest causes of serious injury in tree work and it happens on the ground, and feeding a chipper is responsible for some of the worst injuries in any trade. Both involve somebody doing a routine task while something above or in front of them behaves unexpectedly. Describe your actual role rather than assuming groundwork reads as lower risk.

How long should an arborist insure for?+

Longer than you would in most trades. The planning question here is not what happens if you are off for two months, it is what happens if you are off for two years or never climb again, because the serious injuries in tree work are life-changing rather than inconvenient. That points at a longer benefit period and at holding a lump sum alongside the monthly cover.

What if I recover but cannot climb again?+

That is the scenario the incapacity definition decides. Climbing and cutting need full physical capability and nerve, both of which can be lost while everything else about your health is fine. An any occupation policy will call that person fit for work. An own occupation policy asks whether you can do tree surgery, which for this trade is the only question that reflects your income.

Does it matter that I work for a small team of self-employed people?+

It matters practically. A two or three person team cannot operate a climber down, so it either stops or replaces you, and the domestic and contract work does not wait. Your absence therefore reduces the team's income as well as removing yours, which is worth factoring into how long you insure for rather than assuming the team will hold your place.

Cover that often goes with this

The gaps we most often find sitting next to this one.