The exclusion sitting in almost every liability policy.
General liability policies exclude pollution, and the definition is broader than most people expect. Fuel, dust, silt, runoff, fumes and disturbed contaminated soil can all fall inside it, which matters enormously if you dig, demolish or store anything.
Talk to a broker What it coversPollution caused by your work, including clean-up and remediation
Excavation, demolition, civil and renovation contractors
A copy of the pollution exclusion in your current liability policy
Does general liability cover pollution?
Generally no. Standard commercial general liability contains a pollution exclusion, and “pollutant” is usually defined widely enough to include fuel, chemicals, silt, dust, fumes and contaminated soil. Environmental or contractors pollution liability is a separate policy that covers clean-up costs, third-party claims and, in many cases, the regulatory process that follows an incident.
If the pollution exclusion applies, the clean-up bill is yours in full. Remediation routinely costs more than the damage anyone could see. And regulators do not wait for an insurance argument to be settled.
This is not an exotic risk in construction. A fuel spill from a machine, silt running into a storm drain, or hitting an unmarked tank are all ordinary site events.
Cover for what comes out of the ground, or goes into it.
Contractors pollution liability
Pollution conditions caused by your work on someone else’s site, the core cover for excavation, demolition and civil work.
Clean-up and remediation
The cost of putting it right, which routinely exceeds the third-party claim itself.
Site pollution liability
For owners of land with known or suspected historic contamination, including conditions discovered later.
Transported cargo pollution
Spills from vehicles carrying fuel, chemicals or waste, on the road or at the delivery point.
Storage tanks
Above and below ground. That includes the tanks nobody knew were there until a digger found one.
Mould and indoor conditions
Often excluded elsewhere. It is a common source of claims in renovation and restoration work.
Three ordinary site events that trigger it.
None of these involve anything unusual. All three have produced significant claims.
Silt into a storm drain
Runoff from a dig reaching a watercourse. That is a regulator’s problem as much as a clean-up bill.
A hydraulic hose lets go
Fluid across a client’s floor or into soil. Small volume, disproportionate cost.
An unmarked tank
Older properties hide fuel tanks. Striking one turns a routine dig into a remediation project.
A situation we see.
A hydraulic hose lets go and fluid soaks into soil beside a storm drain. The volume is small. The remediation, the testing and the regulator’s file are not, and the standard liability policy excludes all of it.
Read your own liability policy for the pollution exclusion.
You will be surprised how wide it is.
Most contractors assume pollution means a chemical spill at a refinery. The wording usually covers any irritant or contaminant. That pulls in dust, fumes, silt and fuel. Once you have read it, the question stops being whether you need this and becomes how much.
Some liability policies include a small pollution extension for sudden accidents. That is better than nothing. It is rarely enough for anyone who digs. We will tell you plainly which one you have.
What contractors and owners ask us.
Does my contractor’s liability policy cover a fuel spill?
Usually not, or only under a narrow sudden-and-accidental extension. The standard pollution exclusion is broad, and fuel falls squarely inside most definitions of a pollutant.
Who pays for clean-up if we hit contaminated soil?
It depends on the contract and who owns the land, but the contractor is frequently drawn in. Contractors pollution liability is designed for exactly this situation.
We only do interior renovation. Do we need it?
Possibly. Mould, asbestos disturbance and indoor air quality claims are common in renovation and restoration, and they are typically excluded from general liability.
Does a project owner need their own pollution cover?
Often yes. Site pollution liability covers the land itself, including historic contamination discovered during work, which a contractor’s policy will not address.
Is this required by contract?
Increasingly, on civil, municipal and larger private projects. Send us the insurance clause and we will tell you exactly what it demands.
Does it cover regulatory penalties?
Clean-up and defence costs are commonly covered. Fines and penalties usually are not, and that varies by policy, so it should be checked rather than assumed.
Send us the pollution exclusion from your policy.
We will read it back to you in plain English and tell you what it leaves you carrying.