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Construction & Trades
Insurance for the claim that shows up after the pour has cured.
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A concrete contractor in Canada needs commercial general liability with completed operations, because the costly claims arrive after the pour: settlement, cracking, water entry and slab failures that damage other property. Add a contractors' equipment floater for pumps, mixers, saws and forms, commercial auto for trucks and pump units, and workers' compensation. In Ontario, construction businesses must have WSIB coverage.
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Concrete mistakes set. A leaking foundation wall, a heaved garage slab or a settled driveway can surface months after you are paid, and the water damage, injuries and repairs to other trades' work land on general liability with completed operations. We make sure that coverage is in place, and explain plainly where the your-work exclusion stops it, so you know which risks to manage through contracts and quality control.
On the site, we cover pumps, mixers, trowels, saws and forms on a contractors' equipment floater, line up auto and liability so a pump boom is covered while it is working, and issue the certificates GCs ask for. See the wider construction and contractors guide for the sector view.
Concrete is the trade where mistakes set. Once a slab cures, a wrong elevation, a missed slope, a weak mix or a cold joint can't be fixed with a touch-up. The fix is saw cutting, removal and a new pour, often after other trades have built on top of your work. And many of the problems don't show for months: a garage slab that heaves after the first winter, a basement wall that leaks in spring, a driveway that settles over poorly compacted base.
That makes concrete a completed-operations trade. The site risks are real, with forms, pumps, trucks and heavy materials, but the expensive claims tend to arrive after you have been paid. Concrete sits inside the wider construction and contractors sector, and this page covers what is specific to forming, placing, finishing, pumping and cutting concrete.
A concrete program is built on general liability with completed operations. The other parts protect the equipment and vehicles that do the work.
| Coverage | What it answers | Points to check |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial general liability (CGL) with completed operations | Damage to other property from cracking, settlement or water entry, injury on site, form or pour failures | Completed operations included, your-work exclusion understood, no residential or structural exclusion that removes your work |
| Contractors' equipment floater | Pumps, mixers, power trowels, saws, screeds, forms and shoring | Owned, leased and rented equipment, forms in transit and on site; see tools and equipment |
| Commercial auto | Mixer trucks, pump trucks, pickups and trailers | Boom and pump operations, attached equipment, drivers; see commercial auto |
| Installation floater or builder's risk | Your work damaged before handover: frost, vandalism, a washed-out pour | Who insures the project under the contract, and the deductible |
| Contractors' pollution liability | Washout water, admixture or fuel spills, silica dust | Sudden and gradual events, job sites and yards |
| Workers' compensation and employer's liability | Struck-by, form collapse and musculoskeletal injuries to your crew | Mandatory provincial coverage first, employer's liability for gaps |
The most common misunderstanding in concrete insurance is what happens when the pour itself is wrong. Contractor CGL policies cover property damage and bodily injury your work causes. They usually exclude the cost of repairing or replacing your own faulty work. That split decides most concrete claims.
Timing matters too. In Ontario, the Limitations Act, 2002 sets a basic two-year limitation period from the day a claim is discovered and an ultimate period of 15 years from the act or omission. Because most Canadian CGL is written on an occurrence basis, the policy in force when the damage happened responds, so keep old policy records. Our guide to reading your CGL policy explains the your-work exclusion line by line.
The scenarios below are hypothetical, but they reflect the losses underwriters ask about on every concrete application.
| Hypothetical scenario | Allegation | Policy that responds |
|---|---|---|
| A basement wall leaks through a cold joint the first spring after occupancy | Water damaged finished walls, flooring and stored contents | CGL completed operations for the resulting damage; repairing the wall itself is usually excluded |
| Formwork fails during a wall pour and concrete floods a neighbour's window well | Damage to the adjacent property and clean-up | CGL for the third-party damage; equipment floater for the forms |
| Pump boom contacts the edge of a building while being positioned | Damage to the building's facade | Depends whether auto or CGL covers boom operation; confirm before the job |
| Concrete splatter from a pump line marks parked cars and a storefront | Cleaning and refinishing costs | CGL |
| Saw cutting dust drifts into an occupied office through the air handling system | Clean-up and business interruption claims | CGL, subject to pollution wording; contractors' pollution may be needed |
| A power trowel and a pump are stolen from a fenced yard | Equipment theft | Contractors' equipment floater |
Ontario's Construction Projects regulation is specific about formwork. Formwork, falsework and re-shoring must be designed, built and braced to carry all loads likely to be applied, and must not be loaded beyond their design (O. Reg. 213/91, s. 87). Forms can't be stripped until the concrete can support itself and its loads, or is adequately re-shored (s. 88). Systems with tubular frames, multiple tiers, shores three metres or more high, trusses or modular units must be designed by an engineer and inspected before the pour by the engineer or a competent worker the engineer designates (s. 89). Re-shoring must always be engineer-designed (s. 90).
A form or shoring failure is often the largest single loss in this trade: injured workers, damage to the structure and other trades' work, and delay. Insurers ask who designs your forms and whether you keep the engineer's drawings and inspection statements on site.
Pumps raise their own question. A truck-mounted pump is a vehicle on the road and a piece of machinery on the job. Damage the boom causes while it is operating can fall between the auto policy and the CGL if the wordings don't line up. We check both so the boom is covered when it is unfolded, not just when it is driving. Line pumps and trailer pumps belong on the equipment floater.
Canadian concrete crews pour in the cold, and cold-weather work changes the risk. Hoarding, tarps and fuel-fired heaters protect curing concrete, but they also create fire and carbon monoxide hazards. Ontario's Construction Projects regulation requires a fuel-fired heating device to be located, protected and used so there is no risk of igniting a tarpaulin, temporary enclosure or nearby combustible materials (O. Reg. 213/91, s. 49). A heater fire that spreads to the building or a neighbour's property is a CGL claim, and insurers ask about your heater practice.
Damage to your own work before handover is a separate question. Frost damage to an uncured slab, a pour washed out by a storm or vandalism to fresh flatwork is not a liability claim, because no one else's property was damaged. It falls on the project's builder's risk policy if the contract puts you under it, or on your own installation floater if you buy one. Ask which applies before the first winter pour, and read the deductible, since it can be charged back to you.
General contractors decide who pours, and the insurance clause is part of that decision. Many use CCDC contracts, whose insurance schedule, CCDC 41 (2020), sets general liability at $10,000,000 per occurrence and a $10,000,000 completed-operations aggregate for the contractor. Subcontracts usually pass down a lower limit, but read each one.
Ontario's Construction Act requires each payer to retain a 10% holdback, which strains working capital for trades with high material costs. Our post on why every contract asks for a certificate covers the insurance wording, and larger jobs may need contract surety bonds.
Silica is one of Ontario's eleven designated substances (O. Reg. 490/09), and cutting, grinding and drilling concrete is how most concrete crews encounter it. Dust control is a safety duty first, but dust that reaches neighbouring units or tenants can also produce liability claims.
In Ontario, cement (concrete) finisher, concrete pump operator and precast concrete trades are prescribed trades under the Building Opportunities in the Skilled Trades Act, 2021, but none is a compulsory trade, so a certificate of qualification is not legally required to do the work (O. Reg. 876/21). Insurers still ask about experience and training.
The WSIB says people who own or run a construction business must have coverage, with or without employees, including independent operators and sole proprietors. A principal that hires a contractor for construction work must obtain a clearance certificate before work begins, and clearances are valid for up to 90 days. Outside Ontario, check with your provincial workers' compensation board. Our post WSIB is not enough explains the gaps employer's liability fills.
Concrete CGL is usually rated on payroll or revenue in a concrete class, with subcontracted work rated separately. Underwriters then adjust for:
A quote starts with your revenue split by type of work, your equipment list and copies of a typical contract's insurance clause.
Related trades: see excavation, demolition and general contractor insurance.
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This page is general information, not insurance or legal advice. Coverage depends on your policy wording and the insurer. Speak with a licensed broker about your situation.
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