Contractors Pollution Liability (CPL) Insurance
The coverage your general liability policy specifically excludes.
Covers third-party bodily injury, property damage, and cleanup costs arising from a pollution condition caused by your operations — exactly what the absolute pollution exclusion in standard general liability takes away.
Contractors pollution liability (CPL) is the core environmental coverage every contractor with pollution exposure needs. Standard commercial general liability policies contain an 'absolute pollution exclusion' that strips out claims involving contaminants — fuel, chemicals, silt, dust, fumes, and more. CPL fills that gap. It responds to third-party bodily injury, property damage, and cleanup/remediation costs that result from a pollution condition arising out of your covered operations: a fuel spill, silt runoff into a waterway, fumes that affect building occupants, or contaminated soil disturbed during the work. CPL can be written on a practice basis (covering all your work) or a project-specific basis when an owner or GC requires it for a particular job. For excavation, demolition, environmental, HVAC, plumbing, coating, and many other trades, it's the difference between a covered claim and a catastrophic out-of-pocket loss.
What's included
- Third-party bodily injury and property damage from pollution conditions
- Cleanup and remediation cost coverage
- Fills the absolute pollution exclusion in standard CGL
- Sudden/accidental and gradual pollution options
- Practice-basis or project-specific policies
- Coverage for spills, fumes, runoff, silt, and dust
- Legal defense for covered pollution claims
- Meets owner and GC contract requirements
Who it's for
- Excavation, grading, and demolition contractors
- Environmental, remediation, and abatement firms
- HVAC, plumbing, mechanical, and coating contractors
- Any contractor whose operations can disturb or release contaminants
Typical limits
Commonly $1M per claim / $2M aggregate; project-specific limits to contract requirements
Claims this coverage handles
Frequently asked
Doesn't my general liability cover pollution?
No. Standard CGL policies contain an absolute pollution exclusion that removes coverage for claims involving contaminants. Contractors pollution liability is the policy that responds to pollution conditions your CGL excludes.
Practice policy or project-specific?
Both are available. A practice policy covers all your operations for the term; a project-specific policy covers a single job, often when an owner or GC requires CPL for that project. We help you choose.
Is cleanup covered, or just third-party claims?
CPL typically covers cleanup and remediation costs from a covered pollution condition in addition to third-party bodily injury and property damage — and cleanup costs alone can be severe.