A Reasonable Assumption of Laypersons (and Time For Them to Take Action)

An insurance adjuster (or claims adjuster or claims handler) process insurance claims by interviewing the claimant, consulting experts, etc. in order to determine the payout (if any) from the insuring company. In the latest edition of Detective Dendro (actually an arborist), a tree failed (toppled) and damaged a house. The insurance adjuster needed Dendro to determine if the tree had any pre-existing condition, and if the property owner (presumably a layperson) should have known about it before the tree failed.

The detective and his sidekick arrived on the scene to observe that a large part of the house's roof had been taken out by the tree. They found the stump of the tree that had failed and noted that the trunk broke off about 1.8m above the ground. The tree is an Aleppo Pine (Pinus halepensis).

Dendro's sidekick observed that there are some holes in the branches, which indicated the presence of bark borers. Dendro explained that those borers are secondary pests that attack stressed trees, but the damage they inflict is near the bark, leaving the heartwood (innermost part of the trunk) intact. The presence of borers does not necessarily mean that the tree was likely to fail in the short term, and does not tell the detectives the primary reason of the tree's failure.

Dendro tried to sound the remaining trunk using a mallet to try to detect decay in the upper 7.5 to 12.5 cm from the surface of the bark. If the wood sounded hollow, then there may be existing decay below the surface. There were hollow sounds when the mallet was struck. With a screwdriver, he then probed the heartwood and went about 7.5cm into a soft, discoloured xylem. Hence it was determined that the tree's structural integrity was compromised by decay. And a recent wind event caused the tree to fall.

His sidekick found a 6m length of the trunk about 20m away, on which there were no bark attached, had spots of white fungal fans, and borer holes all around.

Strangely, the Dendro did not attribute the death of the tree to the decay but determined that the tree had been dead a long time, and unsure on the cause of death.

Dendro added that there were no needles (modified leaves of pines) dead or alive found on this tree. Dead needles do not usually persist more than one year after the death of an Aleppo Pine because of wind events. The tree exhibited advanced stage of decay, which include dried branches, delaminated bark and symptoms of decay all over the trunk.

Behind the bark that was hardly attached, there was symptoms of decay - discoloured and soft wood.

His sidekick concluded by saying that even a layperson should have known a tree that had been dead for more than one year would cause problems near buildings and people.

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If I were to guess, the insurance adjuster that hired the detectives would recommend the insuring company not to be liable to the claimant, i.e., not to give payment under the insurance policy due to property damage.

As demonstrated in this case, the implication to owners is that they or the arborist whom they hire would have to determine whether the tree(s) in their property is dead or dying, and to fell them in a controlled manner (if necessary), in order to avoid a situation where there was damage to buildings or injury to people, and the insurance company would not pay up.