Planning for ash dieback: why it should be part of your asset management framework
10/14/2021
Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, better known as ash dieback (ADB), has been in the UK since 2012, but is it something that you as a landowner consider when you’re thinking about how you manage your trees?
There are thought to be around 125 million common ash trees in the UK and it is predicted that in excess of 70-85% of these trees could die from the disease. The University of Oxford suggests that the total cost to the UK could be £15 billion, £7 billion of which will be in the next 10 years.
Of course, there are ecological implications including the loss of natural habitat for 955 different species and the part that trees play in purification of air and water. There could be changes to the ecosystem brought about by replacing ash with other trees. Trees can also improve the risk of flooding so the implication of a loss of the UK’s ash trees is clear.
There are also the insurance implications to consider: the risk of injury to people in the countryside and open spaces or on the public highway; the risk of damage to third party property from falling trees and limbs; the risk of damage to your own property from falling trees and limbs. These will directly affect your insurance claims experience and may impact upon your premiums.
Guidance
Management of ADB is one part of your wider asset management framework. The Tree Council has published a useful Ash Dieback toolkit, which describes an Ash Dieback Action Plan (ADAP), which can be adopted by asset managers and tree officers to assist in managing ADB. The four elements in this model are:
- Raising awareness about ash dieback and the issues it may cause and realising that work needs to be undertaken to understand and deal with the problem.
- Preparing and developing an ADAP to help manage the problems caused by the ash dieback.
- Undertaking actions (e.g. pruning or, where necessary, felling trees) to remedy the problems faced due to ash dieback.
- Landscape restoration in the wake of ash dieback, an essential element of any emergency process.
How can Zurich help?
Zurich Risk Engineering can offer customers a range of risk management solutions, such as a general Asset Management Review, a targeted Tree Safety and Liability Review, facilitated workshops and training. We will work with your insurance team, asset managers and tree officers to help you decide on the most appropriate solution for you.
