Home-insurance friendly tree for front garden?

[NewspaperTaxis]

Decades ago we had a cherry blossom tree in our front garden - the suburban road is lined with them - and it did help shield the view of the front window a little, I imagine. I'd like to plant one again - but would it not affect any future home insurance, where they ask if a tree is within 20ft of the house?

And would a cherry tree count as a 'tree' anyway?

Are there any other trees you might recommend - maybe some that are really large shrubs and don't qualify as a tree at all? I think a Hawthorne does not qualify as a tree, is that right?

Not all insurance companies ask about trees

I have many trees within 20ft of my house and have never been asked this by an insurer (although I’ve had the same insurer for as long as I’ve lived here).

These two answers are correct - however, a few years ago we made what turned out to be a mistake. We got turned down for insurance and so we arranged to put it out for a kind of 'tender' where it got touted around different insurers, with a recent survey attached. It got turned down by all - no takers.

This was odd because while it was my late parents' house, it wasn't that bad. Every room needed a lick of paint, etc but no structural problems, no walls needed taking down or anything, no subsidence. But many insurers want to know if you have been turned down by an insurer in the last few years, it is like a bad credit rating against you, wholly unfair imo - we have got insured the last few years, but to companies that don't ask that question.

So we do not have a large pool of insurers to work from and do not care to minimise it further, added to which, tbf, if tree roots are a problem when it comes to the house, I want to avoid that.

Amelanchier or Juneberry would fit the bill, also a a Kashmiri rowan or possibly a Himalayan Birch, "Greyswood Ghost" is good one.

Cherry trees and hawthorn are definitely trees and cherries should be avoided because of root ingress, they are particularly bad for it (all members of the Prunus family are really, they all sucker as well which is annoying). I would plant a Cercis, some only grow to 4 metres high which don't bother insurers at all.

Usually when insurers ask about trees near the insured property, they're asking about any that are over a certain height - small trees really aren't an issue. If you've found cover with other companies that don't ask, it should be OK.

Did the insurance companies refusing to quote tell you why? It's the sort of thing you'd want to know, isn't it. (As a last resort you should be able to go back to the original insurers that last covered you and advise them that you weren't able to secure cover elsewhere. They should be obligated to quote for you but probably won't be competitive, ie cheap)

How about an Acer? Don’t grow v big and beautiful autumn foliage.