Pollution, Care-Custody-Control, and Other Standard Exclusions: Commercial Lines

A confident broker can recite the headline exclusions on a CGL because they explain most denied claims.

Pollution exclusion, bars coverage for bodily injury or property damage arising out of the discharge, dispersal, release, or escape of pollutants. Most standard wordings include a narrow carve-back for sudden and accidental events; many require a separate environmental impairment liability policy for serious pollution risk.
Care, custody, or control (CCC) exclusion, bars liability for damage to property in the insured's care, custody, or control. This is why garage operators need garagekeepers; warehouses need warehousemen's legal liability; cleaners need bailee's customer goods coverage.
Workers' compensation and employer's liability, CGL excludes injury to the insured's employees because WSIB (workers' compensation) covers it. Employer's liability coverage fills narrow gaps (third-party-over actions where an employer is sued indirectly).
Contractual liability, CGL covers assumed liability under an insured contract (defined narrowly: leases, easements, sidetrack agreements, etc.). Liability the insured assumed beyond these definitions is excluded.
Auto / aircraft / watercraft, excluded from CGL; covered by separate auto, aviation, or watercraft policies.
Products recall, pure recall costs (recovering, replacing destroying recalled products) are excluded; bodily injury and property damage caused by a defective product are covered under products liability.
War, nuclear, and known events, standard catastrophic exclusions.

Each exclusion has a matching specialty product to fill the gap. Brokers must know which gap pairs with which product.

Common mistake: telling a client a "broad" CGL covers "everything". It does not. CGL has heavy exclusions and pairs with several other specialty placements for a complete commercial programme.

⚠️ Trap: The pollution exclusion is one of the most heavily litigated CGL provisions. Brokers handling clients with even incidental pollution exposure (auto repair shops, dry cleaners, any manufacturing) should consider environmental coverage.

Recall: For each of these CGL exclusions, name the typical specialty product that fills the gap: care-custody-control; pollution; employee injury; damage to the insured's own auto.

Not affiliated with the Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario (RIBO). "RIBO" is used for identification only.

A confident broker can recite the headline exclusions on a CGL because they explain most denied claims.

Pollution exclusion, bars coverage for bodily injury or property damage arising out of the discharge, dispersal, release, or escape of pollutants. Most standard wordings include a narrow carve-back for sudden and accidental events; many require a separate environmental impairment liability policy for serious pollution risk.
Care, custody, or control (CCC) exclusion, bars liability for damage to property in the insured's care, custody, or control. This is why garage operators need garagekeepers; warehouses need warehousemen's legal liability; cleaners need bailee's customer goods coverage.
Workers' compensation and employer's liability, CGL excludes injury to the insured's employees because WSIB (workers' compensation) covers it. Employer's liability coverage fills narrow gaps (third-party-over actions where an employer is sued indirectly).
Contractual liability, CGL covers assumed liability under an insured contract (defined narrowly: leases, easements, sidetrack agreements, etc.). Liability the insured assumed beyond these definitions is excluded.
Auto / aircraft / watercraft, excluded from CGL; covered by separate auto, aviation, or watercraft policies.
Products recall, pure recall costs (recovering, replacing destroying recalled products) are excluded; bodily injury and property damage caused by a defective product are covered under products liability.
War, nuclear, and known events, standard catastrophic exclusions.

Each exclusion has a matching specialty product to fill the gap. Brokers must know which gap pairs with which product.

Common mistake: telling a client a "broad" CGL covers "everything". It does not. CGL has heavy exclusions and pairs with several other specialty placements for a complete commercial programme.

⚠️ Trap: The pollution exclusion is one of the most heavily litigated CGL provisions. Brokers handling clients with even incidental pollution exposure (auto repair shops, dry cleaners, any manufacturing) should consider environmental coverage.

Recall: For each of these CGL exclusions, name the typical specialty product that fills the gap: care-custody-control; pollution; employee injury; damage to the insured's own auto.