Cary, N.C. - HMI announced that it deployed over a dozen tree crews from its Authorized Member network to assist homeowners in Alabama and Tennessee recover from the recent tornado's that damaged these areas. The crews were assigned to work exclusively for policy holders of one of the nation's largest insurance companies under HMI's proprietary First Responder Program (FRP). HMI's FRP provides its insurance clients with dedicated tree removal resources and its AMs with an efficient way to deploy into a disaster zone as their mobilization costs are covered and work on-site is provided by the insurance carrier. The crews were provided by several of HMI's Authorized Members (AM) including Arbor Masters and Caldwell Tree Care, and they responded to over 150 requests for emergency tree removals in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Huntsville, Chattanooga and Cleveland (TN).

"Within 36 hours we were asked to deploy crews in five cities in two states that were struck by intense tornados," said Doug Malawsky, executive vice president and COO of HMI. "Our AMs performed amazingly and generated about $400,000 in work. An executive with from our insurance client noted that they received customer letters referencing how amazing the "tree people" were in delivering great service."

"HMI asked us to respond to one of their largest customer's urgent request for help," said Jay Hager of Arbor Masters who ran crews in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, and Huntsville. "Upon our arrival we immediately began receiving assignments and worked consistently for 12 days. HMI got all of our work preapproved by the insurance company and filed all of our invoices for direct payment."

"We were able to provide 5 crews and heavy equipment within 12 hours of receiving the call," said Kevin Caldwell, owner and president of Caldwell Tree Care. "The combination of our field expertise and HMI's strong back office allowed us to triage and help dozens of home owners with complex and dangerous tree damage in record time."

Members of HMI's AM Network provide property owners with risk mitigation services, tree repair and replacement services and all other services related to tree claims and tree damage recovery. HMI also offers treeShield^® as an innovative new service available exclusively through its AM Network. treeShield^® is a Service Warranty that AMs can sell to property owners to aid with post-storm cleanup and recovery. treeShield^® protects property owners from the cost of tree removal, tree debris removal, hazard tree/limb removal, as well as restoration services (restorative pruning, cabling, etc.).

HMI is the only national provider of comprehensive insurance claim support and other services involving trees and landscaping. HMI's services include emergency tree removals; standardized health inspections and average replacement costs, proof and cause of loss analyses as well as cost estimates for tree removal and repair. HMI established its Authorized Member network to ensure professional, quality services are available nationwide to insurance organizations, commercial businesses and residential property owners. For more information, please visit HMI's web site at www.hmiadvantage.com or call (866) 937-6468.

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