Branchline 04 5 min read Guide
Storm-damaged tree on your property: what to do right now
The first hour after a tree comes down. What to photograph for insurance, when to call the SES, and what we do when we get there.
Short answer: If a tree is on your house or touching a power line, call 000, then the SES on 132 500, then us. Do not approach a tree that is touching a line. Photograph everything before anything is moved, because your insurer will need that record. Storm work is the wrong moment to save money on a quote.
The first hour, in order
The first 60 minutes after a tree comes down decide three things: whether anyone gets hurt, whether the damage gets worse, and whether your insurance claim works. Do these five things, in this order. Skip the order at your peril.
Right now, in this order
- People first. Get everyone out of any room with a compromised ceiling or wall, and away from any tree touching a power line.
- Call 000 if anyone is hurt or trapped, or if a power line is on the ground or in contact with the tree. Call Essential Energy on 13 20 80 for the line itself.
- Call the SES on 132 500 for make-safe (tarping the roof, clearing the road, securing the immediate hazard).
- Photograph the damage from every angle, before anything is moved. Wide shots, close shots, the tree, the damage. Your insurer will need this.
- Call your insurer to start a claim, then call an insured arborist for removal. We answer the storm line 24/7.
What "make-safe" means, and where it stops
SES make-safe is exactly that: making the immediate hazard safe. A tarp on a hole in the roof. A road cleared so traffic can pass. A line marked and isolated by Essential Energy. It is not the full removal. The crew that turns up with chainsaws and rigging to take the tree off the structure properly, write the report your insurer will ask for, and clear the green waste, is a private arborist. That is the call you make second.
Within 2 hours
we aim to be on site for storm jobs across the Northern Rivers, 24/7.
Branchline storm-response standard
132 500
NSW SES. First call for make-safe during and after a declared storm event.
NSW State Emergency Service
13 20 80
Essential Energy faults and emergencies. First call if a power line is involved.
Essential Energy emergency contact
Storm-response standards for the Northern Rivers. During a declared event SES capacity is finite, which is why we run a parallel line for private removal.
Red flag
A door-knocker after a storm offering "tree removal, cash, today". Itinerant operators
appear in the Northern Rivers after every named storm. They have no current insurance, no
AQF qualification, and the invoice they hand you is not one your insurer will reimburse.
Take their card. Call us, or another insured arborist, instead.
Watch for
Power lines hidden in the canopy of a fallen tree. The line is energised until Essential
Energy isolates it, even if the tree is on the ground. Stay back 10 metres. Wait for the
network to confirm isolation before any work starts.
Door-knock cowboy vs insured storm crew
Door-knock cowboy
Insured arborist storm crew
Turns up unannounced after a storm, offers cash price.
Booked through your call. Arrives with insurance certificate and ID.
No certificate of currency. No AQF level named.
$20M public liability current. AQF Level 3 climber.
Removes the tree, leaves the green waste, asks for cash.
Removes the tree, clears the waste, issues a GST invoice and the arborist report your insurer needs.
Invoice your insurer will probably reject.
Invoice and report your insurer reimburses.
If your insurer asks for a report
For storm-damage claims, insurers often ask for an arborist report explaining what failed and why (root failure, hollow trunk, structural defect). We can write this report off the back of the removal job, as part of the same callout, so you do not pay for a separate visit. The report references the date of the storm, the species, the failure mode, and the work performed. That is the document an insurer needs.
Common questions
What do I do if a tree has fallen on my house?
Stay back. Get everyone outside if the structure is compromised. If there is any contact with a power line (the tree is touching the line, or the line is on the ground), call 000 and Essential Energy on 13 20 80. Do not approach. Photograph the damage from a safe distance. Then call us, or another insured arborist, for safe make-safe work and removal. Do not let an uninsured operator near a storm tree.
SES or arborist, who do I call?
The SES (132 500) handles immediate make-safe when a tree is on a house, blocking a road, or otherwise an active hazard, especially during a declared storm event. After the make-safe, removal and cleanup is an insured-arborist job. In practice the SES will often tarp a roof and clear the public-safety risk, then leave the full tree removal to a private arborist your insurer approves.
Will my insurance cover the removal?
Usually yes, if the tree caused damage to an insured structure (house, garage, fence) during a covered event. Photograph the damage before anything is moved. Keep the contractor invoice and the arborist report. Most insurers will reimburse the cost of removal that was necessary to repair the covered damage. They will rarely reimburse removal of a tree that did not cause damage, even if the storm weakened it.