Radon mitigation insurance checklist: what a radon mitigation contractor should carry

The radon mitigation contractor insurance checklist

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Radon mitigation usually carry general liability, pollution liability and workers' compensation. Radon mitigators install sub-slab systems during real-estate transactions on tight deadlines, certify post-mitigation levels that buyers rely on, and work under state certification programs in most of the licensed states. The lender and the property manager ask for proof of each. The checklist below says what every item does, who requires it and how to check it on the policies you already have.

Reviewed by Michael LaBarbera, Licensed property & casualty agent, Provident Financial Group · Reviewed Oct 12, 2026 Updated Oct 14, 2026

Who asks a radon mitigation contractor for what

Who	What they usually want to see
Banks, lenders & SBA loans	Property or auto physical damage with the lender as loss payee, and liability proof at closing and every renewal
Property managers & HOAs	General liability with the manager and owner as additional insureds, and workers' compensation
Cities, counties & permits	General liability, auto and workers' compensation at the limits in the permit or contract

Each of them wants a certificate, and most want it again at every renewal. A live certificate link from the wallet shows today's coverage to every holder and tells them when it changes.

How to check what you already have

General liability declarations page. Three liability numbers matter: each occurrence, general aggregate and the products–completed operations aggregate. Then the forms list: blanket additional insured, waiver of subrogation and primary and non-contributory wording satisfy every contract; scheduled forms satisfy one.
Pollution liability. Site-based or contractors form, claims-made or occurrence, the materials named (mold, asbestos, lead, fuels), and transport and disposal coverage.
Workers' compensation information page. Item 3.A must list every state you work in, item 4 must carry the right class codes, and the employers' liability limits should meet what contracts ask. Check that the estimated payroll is close to this year's.
Auto schedule. Every vehicle listed with the right garaging address and use; symbols that include hired and non-owned auto; physical damage with the lender as loss payee where the vehicle is financed.
Professional liability declarations. Claims-made or occurrence, the retroactive date (it should not have moved), the limit per claim and aggregate, the deductible, and whether defence costs sit inside or outside the limit.
Bonds. The obligee (board, municipality or owner), the penal sum and the expiry date; a bond is renewed with the licence or the job, not with the policy year.
Hired and non-owned auto. Look for the symbols 8 and 9 or an endorsement by that name on the auto or general liability policy; without it, staff in their own cars are uninsured on company business.
Equipment schedule. Owned items scheduled above the per-item threshold, a blanket limit for small tools, leased or rented equipment included, and the valuation (replacement cost or actual cash value).

What usually goes wrong for radon mitigation contractors

A post-mitigation test that passed and a later reading that did not, which becomes a professional claim.
Radon treated as a pollutant and excluded from general liability.
A mold or asbestos exclusion sitting on the general liability policy of a business that remediates mold or asbestos.
Damage to the exact thing you are working on is excluded on most general liability forms; installation floaters and care, custody and control endorsements fill that hole.
Home-improvement contractor registration that lapses because the renewal needed a certificate nobody sent.
A licence renewal that lapses because the board's certificate request landed in the wrong inbox.

What underwriters will ask a radon mitigation contractor

Certification status, the share of testing versus mitigation, and how post-mitigation results are documented
Materials handled (mold, asbestos, lead, biohazard), certifications and disposal practice
Share of work paid by insurance carriers and the contracts they require
Residential versus commercial split of the work
Whether any work is done above three stories or below grade
Residential share of the work and whether you register as a home improvement contractor

Have the answers in the wallet before the renewal and the quote request fills itself in; CoverMatch sends one application to every eligible carrier and lines the quotes up against what you have.

Renewal timing

Audits at year end compare payroll, receipts and subcontractor costs with the estimate, so keep the wallet's size figures and the subcontractor certificates current. Start comparing sixty days before expiration, and ask for the limits the next contract will need rather than the ones the last one did.

Questions people actually ask

Is radon a pollution exposure for insurance?

Yes. Radon is a pollutant under general liability forms, so a claim that a system failed to reduce levels is excluded there. Contractors pollution liability with radon named, plus professional liability for the testing opinion, is the pair this trade carries.

Does the state certify radon contractors?

Most of the licensed states require certification for mitigation and testing, with insurance and continuing education behind it, and real-estate contracts rely on the certificate number. The state pages carry each program with its source.

Why can't a radon mitigation contractor rely on general liability?

Because the fungus, bacteria, asbestos and pollution exclusions on standard forms remove the very thing you do. Contractors pollution liability written for remediation, with the materials you handle named, is the policy clients and insurers paying for the work expect to see.

Does general liability cover damage to a customer's property while I work on it?

It covers damage to the rest of their property, not usually the part in your hands. Many forms exclude property in your care, custody or control, so a radon mitigation contractor that handles valuable items or systems needs an endorsement or an installation floater. The policy explainer in the wallet flags the exclusion when it reads your policy.

Do homeowners ask for insurance the way commercial clients do?

Less often, but their lenders, HOAs and permit offices do, and several of the licensed states require home improvement contractors to register and show proof. The state pages carry each rule with its source.