Even water—one of the most essential substances on the planet—can be a pollutant, depending on where it ends up and what contaminate it may carry. As much as you want it appearing on demand in your faucets, it sure is unwelcome when it puddles in your hotel lobby carpet or drips into your storage space.  

That reality is part of why everyone needs pollution coverage. It’s not typically covered your general liability policy and usually is specifically excluded. Further, you aren’t in the clear because you offer, say, marketing services rather than industrial solvents. And this reality is top of mind for me lately because I happen to be seeing a lot more pollution claims.  

Some of them won’t surprise you, but others you might never have considered and are a big part of why everyone from transportation and construction companies to CPAs and restaurant owners need to be covered by a pollution policy.   

Let me start with an example that you’d probably be quick to call pollution: contamination at a construction site, which could include issues like these: 

Construction sites regularly stir up surprises — even after careful preparation — and hazardous materials aren’t always disposed of properly, whether from equipment failure or human error. The scope of mitigation for these claims can be extensive.  

Consider, for example, a chemical spill. The cost of cleanup is just the start. The claim is likely to include expensive setbacks for the project itself and for nearby businesses; damage to the landscape and the people and animals within it; and costs for emergency barricades or other mitigation measures. The list could go on and on.  

Another way pollution risk becomes daunting is that it can arise from an entirely different claim. If you face a fire, for example, runoff from the water firefighters use to extinguish a blaze may mix with chemicals, oils, or other materials stored on the property and flow into creeks, sewers, or nearby property. In that scenario, you are responsible for addressing any resulting bodily injury and property damage.  

Which policy will properly keep you covered depends on a lot of factors, including what you do, how you do it, and where you operate. If you’re operating on a single site, knowing the history of that site before you make significant changes can save you a lot of trouble. And if you’re carrying goods from state to state, you run into a range of regulatory concerns and specific supplemental coverages—especially if contaminants are a part of your day-to-day cargo.  

Two key coverages are common. 

This coverage protects contractors (and their subcontractors), construction firms, developers, environmental service providers, and others against pollution risks from site to site. It typically covers:  

CPL applies to exposures like fuel or chemical spills during construction; improper disposal of hazardous materials; disturbance of asbestos, mold, or contaminated soil; and gas or fuel line ruptures.

For a range of property owners and tenants, PLL covers environmental risks tied to the owned or leased property (or properties), including: 

For any covered site, PLL addresses a range of exposures, including:  

I’ve been driving home the point that everyone benefits from pollution coverage, but certainly some instances require special attention for creating even greater exposures. The following coverages often are included with core policies:  

Anyone can run into a pollution situation and face daunting losses, especially when cleanup and regulatory issues come into play. And you won’t find what you need in a single policy but in developing the right mix of specialized coverages. An easy way to summarize those is that:  

To get back to my point about water: Pretty much anything that is where it shouldn’t be can lead to a pollution claim. That’s a daunting reality, and one I’d be happy to help you address.  

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