Boa, the arb associations dont have any trouble at all accepting Tree Loppers.
Neither do the insurance companies, in fact on a recent ring around to many I asked if there was any difference in premium between qualified arborists and tree loppers ... nope, ya all lumped together and you pay the same premium as our ole mate in the home video taking out a pergola.
The issue here is severely ingrained to permanently etched into the psych of many, the media continually call us tree loppers. Take a look at the BCC thread and Rangitatas news article ... once again tree loppers commented on the tree.
If there's change to be made the first port of call is the associations, second the media lobbied by the associations.