Cleaning up after a fire carries a pollution exposure GL is written to exclude.
Fire and smoke restoration means handling soot and char, pulling out damaged materials, and cleaning and storing everything you can save. Soot is a combustion byproduct, and a standard general liability pollution exclusion is broad enough to capture it, right alongside the damage to property in your care. The coverage has to be built for the work, not assumed from a generic contractor policy. We are independent and based in Eugene, so we build it around what you actually do.
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Restoration insurance often starts around $3,500 a year for a program pairing $1 million of general liability with $1 million of contractors pollution liability (industry ranges). On fire work, that pollution line is doing real work, because soot and smoke residue sit squarely inside the exposure a GL pollution exclusion removes.
Why standard GL leaves gaps on fire work
A general liability policy written for a generic contractor carries a broad pollution exclusion and limits coverage for property in your care. Fire restoration runs into both at once. Soot, char, and smoke residue are combustion byproducts the pollution exclusion is written to capture, and you are cleaning, packing out, and storing the customer building and contents the entire time. On the wrong form, a smoke-residue or odor claim in your core operation can be denied even though the certificate looked complete.
The coverages that fit the work
Contractors pollution liability responds to contamination and cleanup from soot and combustion byproducts. Care, custody, and control coverage answers for damage to the structure and contents you handle, and contents restoration coverage sits alongside it for the pack-out and storage operation. Equipment and inland marine covers the air scrubbers, ozone and hydroxyl units, and foggers that travel to every loss. General liability, workers compensation, and commercial auto make up the base.
What it costs, and what moves the number
Fire and smoke restoration is priced off payroll, revenue, the mix of work, and loss history, not a flat rate. As a reference point, restoration general liability commonly runs about $500 to $3,000 a year on its own, and a program that adds $1 million of contractors pollution liability often starts around $3,500 a year for the combined coverage (industry ranges; your number depends on the operation). Heavy contents and storage exposure moves the number, and workers compensation is where most of the cost sits. Carriers split payroll between cleanup and any reconstruction carpentry and rate each piece to the work, so getting the split right at audit is a major lever on your premium.
Odor, contents, and the claims that surprise people
The fire claims that catch restorers off guard are rarely the obvious ones. A lingering odor the customer says was never removed is a dispute about your work, which is a professional exposure. A high-value contents job that goes wrong in storage is a care-custody-control exposure. Neither is fully answered by general liability, so the program has to carry the pollution, care, and professional pieces together rather than lean on the base policy.
Licensing and standards, Oregon first
We are based in Eugene, so Oregon is where we start. Fire and smoke restoration here needs a CCB license, a bond, and general liability. Fire jobs in housing built before 1978 can disturb lead paint, which requires the CCB lead-based paint renovation certification, and any asbestos disturbed in the fire is regulated by DEQ. The other western states we serve work much the same way, and your state page has the local detail.
Questions worth asking before you sign
Ask whether soot and smoke residue are covered or excluded under the pollution wording. Ask what the care, custody, and control limit is and whether it matches the contents you handle and store. Ask whether professional liability is in place for odor and clearance disputes. Ask whether your equipment is covered in transit as well as at the loss. Vague answers mean real gaps.
Coverages this work needs
The lines that make up a fire and smoke restoration program. Each has its own page with what it does, how it applies, and where the gaps hide.
Contractors Pollution Liability
Soot, char, and combustion byproducts are pollution conditions standard GL excludes. This is the line that responds.
Pollution liability →Care, Custody & Control
Damage to the structure and contents you clean, pack out, and store during the job.
Care, custody & control →Contents Restoration
The pack-out, cleaning, and storage exposure that rides alongside a fire loss.
Contents restoration →Equipment & Inland Marine
Air scrubbers, ozone and hydroxyl units, and gear at the loss and in transit.
Equipment coverage →Professional Liability (E&O)
For a lingering odor complaint or a clearance the customer disputes.
Professional liability →General Liability
The base every restoration program is built on, read with the pollution and care exclusions in mind.
General liability →Restoration insurance by state
Mold licensing, the EPA lead rule, and construction licensing change at the state line. Pick yours for the local rules and what we can place there.
Go deeper in the Learning Center
Plain-language articles on the exact coverage questions restoration runs into. Straight answers, not sales pitches.
Fire and smoke restoration insurance questions
Does general liability cover fire and smoke restoration work?
Why is soot treated as a pollutant?
What coverage handles the contents we pack out and store?
How much does fire and smoke restoration insurance cost?
Do odor and clearance disputes need professional liability?
What licensing do I need in Oregon?
Does my restoration equipment need its own coverage?
Will referral networks require certificates?
Reviewed for insurance accuracy by Richard Sweet, Vantage Point Risk. Last reviewed July 16, 2026. How we review this.
Are soot pollution, contents, and care-custody-control covered?
These are the exclusions that surprise fire restorers after a loss. We read them against your work before a claim does.
Cover the fire and smoke work the way it actually runs.
Tell us about your operation and we will place it with the right market and close the soot, contents, and care-custody-control gaps before a claim finds them.