Errors and Omissions: A Matter of Design A funny thing happened on the way to the marketplace. We forgot to define something that we use every day in our marketing and advertising, without knowing the definition. Worse yet, we claim to be practicing it, but we’re not. The building blocks necessary to practice this undefined […]
Author: Joe Samnik
Acts of God and Other Silly Notions of Trees
May 3, 2022Adjusting Insurance Claims Acts of God: If you are in the business of adjusting insurance claims, you have no doubt heard this scenario numerous times: “There was this incredible wind out of nowhere, and the next thing I knew my huge tree fell through my roof.” Another often repeated theme goes like this: “It must’ve […]
Do Dead Trees Talk?
April 19, 2022Do dead trees talk? Yes. 11:30 p.m. Had you been there on the wooded hill illuminated by the full moon, you would have definitely heard the noise. But you probably would never, ever have imagined its source. Something like a muffled groan but intuitively not human. Time would pass and you would have filed the […]
If a Tree Fell in the Woods …
April 12, 2022If a tree fell in the woods, would an insurance agent hear it? It is an amazing phenomenon to observe from afar. Extremely intelligent and well-versed insurance professionals handling claims become immobile when a tree or landscape issue comes before them. Their eyes glaze over. Their right hand goes to their chin. Their eyebrows rise. […]
Professional Favors: To Do or Not to Do
March 15, 2022What about those professional favors? Do you see the value in those? I enjoy reading posts from a few select authors on LinkedIn. One of those authors is Lisa Stambaugh, a content writer, who has a legion of informed and intelligent posters. She is like Susan Rooks, the Grammar Goddess, in that both remind me […]
Trees and Class-Action Lawsuits
March 8, 2022Trees and Class-Action Lawsuits One of the first lessons to be learned by a state official when inspecting trees to be earmarked for destruction during a viral outbreak is consideration of the homeowner. Rule #1: Be polite to the lady who opens the door to her home. Rule #2: Don’t kick at her dog. This […]
Dangerous Trees, Driveways, and Sewer Lines
February 22, 2022Dangerous trees, driveways, and sewer lines: In this matter we come to understand that the courts often do not appeal themselves to the emotions of a case or the incidentals such as right and wrong that sometimes differentiate one matter from another. Here we have a plaintiff who owned a big pine tree. Big is […]
Tree Roots, Property Lines, and Neighbors
February 15, 2022Tree roots, property lines, and neighbors: Tree roots do not recognize or respect property lines. They regularly cross property lines without conscience or the realization of doing great harm. The question becomes, what to do with them once they do cross a property line and pose a risk to the neighbor or his property. Root […]
The Most Misunderstood Component
February 1, 2022The most misunderstood component in a consulting assignment is fertilizers and fertilization. Of course, there are many other components, such as wrongful death and personal injury assignments that inculcate differences from breach of contract or negligence in the marketplace disputes. But the most misunderstood component of fertilizers and fertilization is especially true of landscape architects […]
Valuing Trees: Net Perspective
January 18, 2022Valuing trees: Net perspective Insurance adjusters and attorneys, not to mention arborists, are often confronted with a tree or plant that is not yet ready for the open marketplace and resultant comparable pricing. It has value, but how to value it becomes the question. I was involved in such a case. Several thousand trees that […]