Financial Responsibility

As a condition to obtaining or renewing a license or commercial certification, an applicant shall be required by the Department to submit with his or her application an attestation by an insurance broker certifying that the insurance policy coverage in force and issued on behalf of said applicator meets or exceeds the standards set forth below, except as provided in 333 CMR 10.13(10). This attestation shall be on a form provided by the Department. (1) Certified Commercial Applicator. The following minimum comprehensive general liability insurance coverage (ground application) is required: (a) Bodily Injury Liability $ 100,000 each occurrence 300,000 aggregate (b) Property Damage Liability 100,000 each occurrence (including completed operations) (2) Licensed Applicator. The following minimum comprehensive general liability insurance coverage (ground application) is required: (a) Bodily Injury Liability $ 50,000 each occurrence 100,000 aggregate (b) Property Damage Liability 50,000 each occurrence (including completed operations) (3) Certified Commercial Applicators or Licensed Applicators who apply pesticides aerially. The following minimum comprehensive general liability insurance coverage is required: (a) Bodily Injury Liability $ 100,000 each occurrence 300,000 aggregate (b) Property Injury Liability 100,000 each occurrence (including completed operations) (4) (a) In order to satisfy the requirements of 333 CMR 10.13(1) and (2), insurance policies must include an endorsement that modifies any pollution exclusion provision written into said policies. The Department, with approval of the Board, may waive this pollution liability coverage requirement for any segment of the commercial pesticide industry that can not secure pollution liability coverage, provided that submitted documentation indicates pollution liability coverage is not available to that industry segment. For the purpose of 333 CMR 10.00, industry segment shall refer to a set of individuals, applicators, and/or companies who provide the same pest control services(s). (b) In order to satisfy the requirements of 333 CMR 10.13(3), insurance policies must include coverage for chemical drift resulting from legally carried out purposeful use of pesticides by commercial aerial pesticide applicators. The Department with approval of the Board may waive this chemical drift liability coverage requirement for any segment of the commercial aerial pesticide application industry that can not secure such coverage, provided that submitted documentation indicates chemical drift coverage is not available to that industry segment. For the purpose of 333 CMR 10.00, industry segment shall refer to a set of individuals, applicators, and/or companies who provide the same pest control service(s). (5) Insurance policies offered to satisfy the requirements of 333 CMR 10.13(1), (2) and (3) may be written with combined bodily injury and property damage limits so long as these combined limits equal or exceed the sum of the required individual limits. (6) Applicators of pesticides to premises owned or otherwise controlled by their employers and to which the public is invited or to which free access is permitted are required to meet only the bodily injury requirements of 333 CMR 10.13(1), (2) and (3). (7) Certified commercial applicators of pesticides to premises owned or otherwise controlled by their employers and to which the public is not invited or to which free access is not permitted are not required to meet either the property damage or the bodily injury requirements of 333 CMR 10.13(1), (2) and (3). (8) Financial responsibility required by 333 CMR 10.13(1), (2) or (3) shall not be required of persons whose pesticide applicator activities are part of their duties as governmental employees, when they are working in their governmental capacity. (9) An applicator shall notify the Department in writing when the applicator's insurance is altered, revoked or amended. (10) If an applicator demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Department that the applicator is employed by a business entity (a) with net assets in excess of $ 1,000,000 and (b) the employer maintains in Massachusetts a registered agent for service of process, the requirements of 333 CMR 10.13(1), (2) and (3) may be waived if the applicator states in writing that the applicator's pesticide activities are performed only for the employer, and further, that the employer in writing gives the name and address of the representative on which legal process can be served.