Does contractor’s pollution liability cover mold?

Many contractor’s pollution forms include mold and some exclude or sublimit it. Varies by carrier; read the definition of pollutants and any mold limit.

It varies by trade, revenue and limit. A low-hazard trade can often add it at modest cost; demolition and abatement price as their own risks.

Can you check the insurance requirements in my contract?

Yes. Paste the insurance section into our free Contract Insurance Decoder and it names the endorsement behind each clause, flags the ones that are often missing, and prints a checklist, without the text leaving your browser. Send that with your current policy and a licensed agent compares them line by line, usually the same business day.

A demolition contractor with a respirator hanging at his neck in coveralls outside a plastic-sheeted containment area in an old industrial building, work lights glowing

My contract requires contractor’s pollution liability. Doesn’t my general liability cover that?

Mostly no. CG 00 01 04 13 excludes pollution released by pollutants you or your subcontractors bring onto a job site, with narrow exceptions, and many contractor policies add CG 21 49, the Total Pollution Exclusion. Contractor’s pollution liability (CPL) is a separate policy or carrier endorsement, and the contract’s additional insured and primary wording must be requested on it too.

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The forms, side by side

Form	What it does	Blanket or scheduled	Carrier availability	What to ask your agent	Common trap
CG 00 01 exclusion f	Excludes most pollution from your operations	Standard form	Every ISO policy	Which pollution exceptions does our form keep?	Assuming mold, silica or fuel is covered
CG 21 49	Total Pollution Exclusion	Endorsement	Common on contractor policies	Is CG 21 49 on the policy?	Removes even the narrow exceptions
Contractor’s pollution liability	Covers pollution conditions your work causes	Separate policy or endorsement	Varies by carrier	Occurrence or claims-made, and with what additional insured terms?	Bought without the contract’s endorsements on it

CG 00 01 exclusion f
What it does
Excludes most pollution from your operations
Blanket or scheduled
Standard form
Carrier availability
Every ISO policy
What to ask your agent
Which pollution exceptions does our form keep?
Common trap
Assuming mold, silica or fuel is covered
CG 21 49
What it does
Total Pollution Exclusion
Blanket or scheduled
Endorsement
Carrier availability
Common on contractor policies
What to ask your agent
Is CG 21 49 on the policy?
Common trap
Removes even the narrow exceptions
Contractor’s pollution liability
What it does
Covers pollution conditions your work causes
Blanket or scheduled
Separate policy or endorsement
Carrier availability
Varies by carrier
What to ask your agent
Occurrence or claims-made, and with what additional insured terms?
Common trap
Bought without the contract’s endorsements on it

The detail

CG 00 01 excludes bodily injury or property damage from pollutants at a site where any insured or its contractors or subcontractors are performing operations "if the 'pollutants' are brought on or to the premises, site or location in connection with such operations".
ISO Commercial General Liability Coverage Form CG 00 01 04 13 (specimen)
The same exclusion has narrow exceptions, including escaping fuels and fluids needed to operate mobile equipment and gases or fumes inside a building from materials brought in for the work.
ISO Commercial General Liability Coverage Form CG 00 01 04 13 (specimen)
CG 21 49 09 99 is the ISO endorsement titled Total Pollution Exclusion Endorsement.
CG 21 49 09 99 as filed by a carrier

What this means for you

Check the form type. Contractor’s pollution is written occurrence or claims-made depending on the carrier. If claims-made, the retroactive date and tail matter as much as the limit.
Repeat the endorsements. Additional insured, primary and non-contributory and the waiver all have to be asked for on the pollution policy as well.
Trade matters. Demolition, abatement, excavation, HVAC and plumbing are where general contractors require it most, and where general liability alone leaves the most out.

Go deeper on any of these

Need this handled?

Reading about it and having it handled are different jobs, and the second one is ours. We place the accounts other brokers decline — claims history, a cancellation, an unusual operation, a business nobody wants to underwrite twice — and we will tell you when the policy you already have is the right one. Tell us the situation and a licensed human replies the same business day.