"Alan Sung" wrote
This past winter a large SUV crashed into a Norway Maple in front of my
house out near the road. The tree has a 7" caliper, 21" circumference and
is
about 35-40 feet high. A chunk of the bark about 18" high and about 1/3 of
the circumference was knocked off down to the bare wood.

The driver was very cordial and said that their insurance would pay for
the
damage. I had a certified horticulturalist from Weston Nurseries come and
look at the tree and write a letter giving an estimate. It says "This tree
will continue to live for several more years, however, with each year this
tree will leaf out less and less, resulting in rotting branches and
internal
rot of the exposed hard wood due to the extensive cambium layer scar. No
remedial action can save this tree."

The numbers we
Tree: $5,000
Delivery w/crane truck: $275
Tree and stump removal: $600
Installation w/3 laborers and compost soil: $600

After sending this information off to Commerce Insurance, they came back
and
said "We'll give you $500 because we do not think the tree needs to be
replaced and that's all that the damaged bark is worth. We sent an
adjuster
to look at the tree and it looks just fine."

I am looking to get a second opinion from another certified
horticulturalist
who is familiar with tree values and associated costs. Does anyone have
any
recommendations or the best way to proceed?

Thanks,
-al sung
Hopkinton, MA

The insurance company is banking that you did not have the tree insured for
more. Your homeowners policy _probably_ would only pay $500 for removal etc
if it got hit by lightning. $500 is the normal for storm damage, be it 1
tree or 20, most policies have a $500 cap per incident (not per tree). You
should be able to verify this through your policy or a quick call to your
agent. Now if you updated your insurance, and can prove you had it insured
for over 6k, then it's a different story.