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Construction & Trades
Insurance for the fall that arrives months after the storm, and the contract that put it on you.
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A snow removal contractor in Canada needs commercial general liability rated for snow and ice operations, with contractual liability that matches the indemnities in your contracts, because slip-and-fall claims are the main risk. Add commercial auto for plow and salter trucks, tools and equipment cover for loaders, blades and sidewalk machines, and workers' compensation for crews. In Ontario, injured people must give written notice within 60 days for snow and ice claims.
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Snow contractors carry their clients' slip-and-fall risk. Commercial contracts shift it to you through hold-harmless clauses, and claims arrive long after the storm. We build programs around general liability rated for snow and ice operations, with commercial auto for plow and salter trucks and tools and equipment cover for loaders and sidewalk machines.
We read your contracts alongside your policy, because the indemnity you sign decides the insurance you need. In Ontario, injured people must give written notice within 60 days for snow and ice claims, and your logs decide the ones that arrive on time. Our post on snow contracts and slip-and-fall liability covers the practical side, and the construction and contractors guide gives the sector view.
Plowing and salting are the work. Slip-and-fall liability is the risk. A commercial snow contract usually makes you responsible for the property owner's winter falls, and those claims arrive weeks or months after the storm, when nobody remembers the morning in question.
That is why insurers rate snow and ice operations separately from almost every other trade, and why a few commercial lots can move a premium more than the revenue suggests. It is not a reason to avoid the work. Winter contracts keep trucks and crews earning, and many landscapers depend on them. It is a reason to read what you sign, insure it properly and keep records that win claims. Snow removal sits inside our construction and contractors sector.
A snow program has a liability core and a vehicle and equipment shell around it.
| Coverage | What it answers | Points to check |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial general liability (CGL) | Slip-and-fall injuries and property damage at the sites you service | Snow and ice operations declared and rated, no snow exclusion; see commercial general liability |
| Contractual liability | The client's liability you take on through indemnity and hold-harmless clauses | Standard wordings cover tort liability you assume in a business contract made before the injury; check how broader indemnities are treated |
| Commercial auto | Plow and salter trucks on the road and on lots | Plow blades and spreaders declared, drivers listed; see commercial auto |
| Tools and equipment floater | Loaders, skid steers, sidewalk machines, blades, pushers and spreaders | Theft and damage on site and in yards; see tools and equipment |
| Employers' liability | Injury suits from workers not barred by workers' compensation | Seasonal and on-call staff; see employer liability |
| Umbrella | Large commercial contracts and serious injury claims | Sits above CGL, auto and employers' liability |
If you also mow, build or prune in summer, put both seasons on one program. Undeclared snow work is one of the most common coverage gaps in the trade.
Since January 29, 2021, section 6.1 of Ontario's Occupiers' Liability Act has changed how snow claims start. It is the most important statute a snow contractor in Ontario should know.
If notice is given, the normal limitation period applies. Under the Limitations Act, 2002, that is generally two years from the day the claim was discovered. So a fall in February can still become a lawsuit two winters later. Treat every notice letter as a claim and send it to your broker the day it arrives.
Section 6.1 is Ontario law. Other provinces we serve have their own occupiers' liability rules and limitation periods, and none should be assumed to include a 60-day snow notice.
Under section 3 of Ontario's Occupiers' Liability Act, an occupier must take reasonable care to see that people on the premises are reasonably safe. The Act defines occupier to include anyone with responsibility for and control over the premises or the activities there, and there can be more than one. A snow contractor with control of a lot's winter maintenance can be sued as an occupier as well as under its contract.
Section 6 lets an owner avoid liability for an independent contractor's negligence if it acted reasonably in hiring a competent contractor and checking the work. That is one reason owners hire snow contractors and also why they pass the risk down by contract. In practice, the injured person sues everyone: owner, tenant, property manager and contractor. The contracts and the evidence decide who pays.
Your contract decides how much risk you carry. Read these clauses before you sign.
Our post on snow contracts and slip-and-fall liability walks through the clauses worth negotiating, and our guide to why contracts ask for a certificate explains each insurance request.
This scenario is hypothetical and simplified. A shopper slips on ice in a plaza parking lot in Ottawa in February and breaks a wrist. Thirty-five days later her lawyer sends a notice by registered mail to the property manager, inside the 60-day window. Under section 6.1, the manager must send a copy to the snow contractor. The contract requires the contractor to indemnify the owner and names the owner as an additional insured.
The contractor's insurer asks one question first: what do the records show for the 72 hours before the fall?
| Issue | Contractor with records | Contractor without records |
|---|---|---|
| Service visits | GPS log shows two plows and a salting the evening before | Driver remembers being there |
| Weather | Logged freezing rain overnight, with a re-salt request sent to the manager | No record of conditions |
| Contract standard | Visits match the 5 cm trigger and salting standard in the contract | Contract promises bare pavement |
| Likely outcome | Defence is strong; fault may shift to the owner or the claim settles low | Credibility contest; defence costs and settlement value rise |
The service on the day may have been identical. The difference is paper. Keep logs like invoices, for at least as long as a claim could arrive.
Snow equipment lives between auto and equipment insurance, and the gaps open where the two meet.
In Ontario, the WSIB requires most businesses with employees to register within 10 calendar days of hiring their first worker, and seasonal and on-call staff count. Snow work is night and weekend work in bad weather, so injuries happen. Ask the WSIB to confirm how your operations are classified, and see our post WSIB is not enough for the coverage stack beyond it. Outside Ontario, check your provincial board's rules.
Subcontracted routes are common in heavy winters. If a subcontractor services a site under your contract, the client's claim comes to you. Collect the sub's certificate, with limits matching yours and you named as additional insured, before their first push, and pass your indemnity down in writing. A sub with a plow and no policy is your exposure in their truck.
Snow liability is rated on what you service and what you have promised, not just on revenue.
| Factor | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Number and type of sites | Hospitals, plazas and grocery stores carry more foot traffic than industrial lots or driveways |
| Residential vs commercial mix | Commercial lots bring slip-and-fall exposure; residential routes bring frequent small property damage |
| Service standard in contracts | Zero tolerance and bare pavement promises are rated as higher risk |
| Indemnity wording | Broad hold-harmless clauses transfer more of the owner's risk to you |
| Documentation | GPS logs, salt records and photos reduce claim costs and impress underwriters |
| Subcontracting | Uninsured subs add exposure; insured subs with certificates reduce it |
| Vehicles, equipment and claims history | Plow trucks, drivers, scheduled equipment and past falls |
Build the premium into your bids. A contract that transfers a property owner's slip-and-fall exposure to you at plowing-only prices pays you to hold someone else's risk for free. Ask us for the cost of each new commercial site before you sign it, not after.
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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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