I've lived in my house for 30 years and never remember the trees falling down like they have over the past few years.

Yeah it's crazy. Some of it was due to weather and some due to disease.

Its very scary, but your best bet is to always use a tree guy with their own insurance. I never checked whether they had worker's comp and why would that ever be my responsiblity? I'm not their employer, the company I hired is.

That's what I thought but was browsing websites like this one:

https://certapro.com/boston-south-shore/community/how-to-make-sure-all-contractors-that-work-on-your-home-are-properly-insured-and-why-it-matters/

"Worker’s Compensation insurance protects the company’s workers who are working on your property.

If a worker is injured, their medical costs are covered by Worker’s Compensation. If a company does not carry Worker’s Compensation, you as the homeowner are likely liable for the injuries to the workers."

Tipping? I would never hire a company that asked for that when it comes to tree work. They have a lot of nerve because they charge so much money to begin with.

Yeah. They did not ask for it until the end of the process where you go to their website to pay.

Only reason I tipped was because they were quite a bit lower than the other estimates and they were able to fit me in that day instead of waiting 2 months. Looking back, probably should not have tipped at all even though they did a good job. If they wanted more money, it should have been in the quote.

The culture of tipping in the US is getting out of control.