ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR

The franchise agreement requires general liability insurance (minimum $1,000,000 per occurrence, $2,000,000 aggregate on an occurrence form), workers' compensation at statutory limits with employers liability of $1,000,000/$1,000,000/$1,000,000, commercial auto covering all vehicles used in operations, and the franchisor named as additional insured on both ongoing operations and completed operations endorsements. Primary and non-contributory language and waiver of subrogation in favor of the franchisor are also required. Confirm the current legal entity name for the additional insured from your franchise agreement — the Authority Brands entity name must appear exactly as written in the document.

The general liability minimum is $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate. Workers' compensation must meet your state's statutory limits, with employers liability at $1,000,000 each accident, $1,000,000 disease per employee, and $1,000,000 disease policy limit. Commercial auto limits vary by franchisor requirement — confirm in your specific franchise agreement. These are the franchisor minimums. Whether they are adequate for your actual operations depends on the scope of work you perform, the states you operate in, and the revenue and fleet size of your business.

It depends on your carrier's policy form. The standard ISO Commercial General Liability form excludes pollutants — and refrigerant qualifies as a pollutant under most carrier interpretations. A refrigerant release that causes bodily injury or property damage may be excluded from your standard general liability policy. Contractors Pollution Liability is the coverage designed to fill that gap. Every HVAC franchise performing refrigerant handling should confirm with their agent whether their specific general liability form covers or excludes refrigerant-related claims — and should carry Contractors Pollution Liability regardless of the answer.

The answer depends on whether your carrier's policy form treats carbon monoxide as a pollutant. Some forms do. Some do not. The standard ISO form has been interpreted both ways by different carriers in different states. Carbon monoxide bodily injury claims from residential furnace work are high-severity completed operations claims. Review your specific policy form with your agent and confirm the pollution exclusion language and whether CO is addressed specifically. If your form excludes CO as a combustion product, Contractors Pollution Liability may respond to the gap.

The general liability occurrence form covers bodily injury and property damage from completed work, including gas line failures. Where claims get complicated: if the fire also involves smoke and combustion byproduct claims, the pollution exclusion may apply to portions of the damage. The specific outcome depends on your carrier's form and how they read the facts. Gas line work is a specialty exposure that warrants a policy form review specific to combustion and gas-related completed operations — not just confirmation that you have completed operations coverage.

If the damage is to property clearly separate from the work area — a customer's vehicle, furniture outside the work zone — the general liability policy covers it as third-party property damage. If the damage is to the property being worked on — the ceiling, the ductwork in the access area — the standard ISO exclusion for damage to property during active operations may apply. The line between "adjacent property" and "the property being worked on" is where most attic and crawlspace claims end up in dispute.

The primary NCCI code for HVAC technicians is 5537 — Heating, Cooling and Refrigeration. This code should appear on your workers' compensation declarations page. If a different code appears, ask your agent to explain the classification and confirm it accurately reflects the work your employees perform. State rates for 5537 vary significantly — Florida, New York, and Illinois are among the higher-rate states for this classification. Gas line commissioning work may trigger additional classification review in some states.

Commercial accounts create two coverage questions. First, most commercial clients require higher general liability limits — $2,000,000 per occurrence is a common commercial certificate requirement, and some larger commercial accounts require $5,000,000 or umbrella coverage. If your policy is built at $1,000,000 per occurrence for FDD compliance, you may not be able to satisfy commercial certificate requirements without a limit increase. Second, commercial HVAC work often involves more complex refrigerant systems and larger gas connections — which elevates the contractors pollution liability and completed operations exposure compared to residential-only operations.

Yes — if your policy is written on an occurrence form. The occurrence form covers claims arising from work performed during the policy period, regardless of when the claim is reported. For HVAC work, the completed operations tail can run for years. A unit you installed or serviced can fail long after the job closed. Occurrence form general liability preserves this coverage for every job performed while the policy was active. It is the most important structural feature of your general liability policy — and the reason claims-made form is not acceptable for a trades franchise operation.

No. Standard general liability does not cover your own inventory. Commercial property insurance covers inventory at a fixed location. Inland marine insurance (also called tools and equipment coverage) covers your refrigerant stock, tools, and equipment when they are on your vehicles, at job sites, and in transit. An HVAC franchise without inland marine has no coverage for the refrigerant and tools in a van that is broken into overnight or involved in an accident.

Any 1099 technicians you paid during the policy year will be reviewed at audit. If they cannot produce current certificates of insurance showing their own workers' compensation coverage, the carrier treats their payroll as yours — at your NCCI 5537 rate. A certificate that was valid at hire and has since expired produces the same audit result as no certificate. The bill arrives after the policy year closes. The prevention is operational: collect certificates before any 1099 technician begins work, verify they are current at year end, and maintain documentation of every certificate collected throughout the year.

Contractors pollution liability is what should have responded. It covers bodily injury and property damage arising from pollutant releases — including refrigerant — during your operations and completed work. It fills the gap the standard general liability pollution exclusion creates. For an HVAC franchise performing refrigerant handling on every service call, contractors pollution liability is not a specialty coverage. It is the coverage your general liability policy was not designed to provide for your primary daily exposure. Minimum premium for $1,000,000 in contractors pollution liability for HVAC contractors starts at approximately $2,500 annually (contractors pollution liability market data, 2025).