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Construction & Trades
Insurance that meets your licence conditions and answers the claim a standard CGL excludes.
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A pest control business in Canada needs commercial general liability, pesticide pollution liability, commercial auto for its service vehicles, and workers' compensation or employers' liability for staff. In Ontario, every licensed operator must carry at least $2,000,000 CGL, $1,000,000 pollution liability and, unless covered by the WSIB, $1,000,000 employers' liability. Add tools and equipment cover, and professional liability if you sell inspection or prevention advice.
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Pest control is the one trade where the most likely claim is the one a standard policy refuses. A commercial general liability policy excludes pollution, and a pesticide applied, stored or spilled on the job can be treated as one. Ontario's Pesticides Act regulation makes the split explicit: every licensed operator must carry at least $2,000,000 CGL and a separate $1,000,000 pesticide pollution liability, plus employers' liability unless covered by the WSIB.
We build programs around your licence and your services: residential and commercial pest control, fumigation, heat treatment, termite and landscape work. We add commercial auto for service vans, tools and equipment cover for sprayers and heat units, and certificates for the food plants and property managers that hire you. See the construction and contractors guide for the wider sector view.
Most trades leave behind a finished wall or a new fixture. You leave behind a regulated chemical, inside someone's home, restaurant or warehouse. That changes the insurance. A standard commercial general liability policy excludes pollution, and a pesticide applied, stored or spilled in the course of your work can be treated as a pollutant. Without the right extension, the claim you are most likely to face is the one the base policy refuses.
Pest control sits with the service trades in our construction and contractors sector, but it is the only one where provincial law tells you exactly what liability insurance to buy. Ontario sets minimums for every licensed operator, and Alberta ties pesticide service registration to insurance. Get the program right and you keep your licence, pass commercial client audits and win the contracts that require proof of coverage.
A typical program has five or six parts. The pollution piece is the one that is easy to get wrong.
| Coverage | What it answers | Points to check |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial general liability (CGL) | A customer slips on a wet floor you treated, or your technician damages a ceiling while baiting an attic | At least $2,000,000 per occurrence in Ontario; completed operations; additional insured wording for commercial clients |
| Pesticide pollution liability | A tenant claims illness after a treatment, or drift damages a neighbour's garden, pond or livestock | Covers handling, storage, use and disposal of pesticides; Ontario minimum $1,000,000; sudden-only versus gradual triggers |
| Employers' liability or WSIB | A technician is injured or made ill at work | Ontario requires $1,000,000 employers' liability unless the business is a WSIB Schedule 1 or 2 employer paying its premiums; see employers' liability |
| Commercial auto | Service vans carrying pesticides, sprayers and ladders | Declare business use and what you carry; see commercial auto |
| Tools and equipment | Theft or damage to foggers, heat-treatment units, sprayers, bait stations and cameras | Off-premises and in-vehicle theft; see tools and equipment |
| Professional liability (E&O) | A client says your inspection report or prevention plan was wrong and they lost money | Matters for pre-purchase pest inspections and food-plant audit programs; see professional liability |
Pest operators who also do wildlife exclusion, bird proofing or attic restoration should list each service. An unlisted service can fall outside the operations described on the policy.
Ontario's Pesticides Act separates the person who applies the pesticide from the business that sells the service. Section 5 prohibits anyone from performing or offering to perform an extermination except under a licence of a prescribed class, and prohibits anyone from operating an extermination business without a licence, unless exempt. Section 9 then says an operator shall insure against liability or furnish a bond as the regulations provide.
| Rule | What it requires | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Exterminator's licence | Issued by class. Structural classes are Fumigation Commodity, Fumigation General, Fumigation Soil, Fumigation Vault, Greenhouse/Interior Plant, Structural and Termite. Land classes include Landscape and Industrial Vegetation. Applicants must be at least 16 and complete an approved course within 12 months before applying. | O. Reg. 63/09, ss. 35, 36 |
| Operator's licence | Needed to operate an extermination business. An individual applicant must be at least 18 and a licensed exterminator. A corporation or partnership names official representatives at least 18, and lists its licensed exterminators. | O. Reg. 63/09, ss. 37, 38 |
| Employers' liability | At least $1,000,000 per occurrence, unless the business is a WSIB Schedule 1 or 2 employer and pays all premiums due. Proof of that status must be produced on request. | O. Reg. 63/09, s. 93 (2), (3), (4) |
| Commercial general liability | At least $2,000,000 per occurrence. The regulation's definition of CGL excludes pollution liability, so it cannot double as your pollution cover. | O. Reg. 63/09, s. 93 (1), (2) |
| Pollution liability | At least $1,000,000 per occurrence for claims from the handling, storage, use, disposal or display of a pesticide. Aerial-only operators need at least $150,000 for off-target deposition. | O. Reg. 63/09, s. 93 (2), (5) |
| Policy conditions | The insurer must give the Director at least 30 days' notice by registered mail before cancellation, and must pay a judgment creditor even if the operator's own breach would void the policy, with a right to recover from the operator. | O. Reg. 63/09, s. 93 (6) |
Section 92 exempts a narrow group from the operator's licence and the insurance section, such as businesses whose only exterminations use enclosed insecticide baits, wood preservatives or certain soap, mineral oil or diatomaceous earth products. Most structural pest control companies do not fit. Read the exemption carefully before relying on it, and check with the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks if in doubt.
Not every insurer writes the policy conditions in section 93 (6) by default. We confirm the wording names the Director for cancellation notice before we bind.
Every province regulates commercial pesticide use, but the insurance rules differ. These are the two we have checked against the regulation itself.
Working in more than one province means holding the licences each one requires. Your liability policy should list every province where you treat, with no territory gap. Lawn and landscape application overlaps with landscaper work, so a combined business should disclose both.
The scenarios below are hypothetical, but they reflect the questions underwriters ask on every pest control application.
| Hypothetical scenario | Allegation | Policy that responds |
|---|---|---|
| Family returns home too early after a bed bug treatment and a child becomes ill | Bodily injury from pesticide exposure and inadequate re-entry instructions | Pesticide pollution liability; a base CGL pollution exclusion would likely apply |
| Spray drifts from a landscape treatment onto a neighbour's vegetable garden and fish pond | Property damage from off-target application | Pollution liability; ask whether drift is covered on a sudden-only or broader basis |
| Technician steps through a drywall ceiling while placing rodent bait in an attic | Property damage to the customer's home | CGL |
| Restaurant fails a health inspection after a missed infestation and closes for two days | Lost income caused by an ineffective service program | Often contested; may need professional liability or a specific service-failure extension |
| Van broken into overnight and a sprayer, fogger and pesticide stock stolen | Equipment loss, and a possible pollution issue if stock is released | Tools and equipment for the gear; report the release under your licence conditions |
| Heat treatment for bed bugs overheats and warps furniture and electronics | Property damage during the job | CGL, subject to any exclusion for property you are working on |
Re-entry and preparation instructions are evidence. Give them in writing, keep a signed copy, and record the product, rate and registration number on every work order.
Ontario's regulation draws the line clearly: CGL is defined to exclude pollution liability, and pollution liability is the separate cover for claims from the handling, storage, use, disposal or display of a pesticide. That split mirrors how insurers write it.
Our construction and contractors guide covers standalone contractors' pollution liability for larger commercial programs, where a client contract may require a higher limit than the regulation does.
In Ontario, most businesses with employees must register with the WSIB within 10 calendar days of hiring their first worker. For a pest control operator, the WSIB matters twice: it covers your staff, and being a Schedule 1 or 2 employer that pays its premiums is what lets you drop the $1,000,000 employers' liability minimum in section 93. Keep proof of your WSIB status ready, because the regulation says you must produce it on request.
Employers' liability still has a role. A contingent extension on your CGL responds to suits that slip past the workers' compensation bar, for example from workers outside the plan. Owners and sole proprietors outside construction are not covered by the WSIB unless they buy optional insurance. Our post WSIB is not enough explains the full stack, and other provinces run their own boards with their own rules.
Food processors, restaurants, property managers and condo corporations buy pest control on contract, and their contracts set the insurance. Expect a request for a certificate of insurance before your first visit and at every renewal.
Our post on why every contract asks for a certificate of insurance covers the wording to look for.
Pest control liability is rated mainly on revenue or payroll, split by type of work. Residential general pest, commercial contracts, fumigation, termite work, landscape and lawn application, and wildlife removal each carry a different rate. Fumigation and aerial work sit in the highest classes. Underwriters then adjust for the products you use, whether you handle restricted classes, your licence classes and training, written re-entry procedures, storage practices, prior claims and years in business.
Pollution liability is priced on the same activity split, with a sudden-only trigger usually costing less than broader cover. Higher limits, contracts that demand additional insureds, and US work all add premium. Vehicles are rated on drivers, use and what you carry. We price the Ontario minimum and a higher limit side by side so you can see the cost of the step up before a client asks for it.
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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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