How to Remove Height Exclusions from Your Tower Insurance Policy

A height exclusion is a policy provision that eliminates coverage for bodily injury or property damage arising out of work performed above a specified height — typically 40 or 50 feet above ground or the lowest adjacent grade. Some exclusions use different height thresholds (15 feet, 25 feet, two stories) depending on the carrier and policy form. Height exclusions exist because work at elevation dramatically increases the severity of potential injuries. A fall from 200 feet on a communication tower is almost certainly fatal, while a fall from ground level at a commercial job site rarely produces a fatality. Insurance carriers that do not specialize in tower or high-elevation work include height exclusions to avoid exposure to catastrophic fall claims that their pricing and reserves are not designed to handle. The exclusion is typically found in the general liability policy, the umbrella or excess liability policy, or both. It may be a standalone endorsement that explicitly excludes work above a stated height, or it may be embedded within a broader exclusion for hazardous activities, construction work, or specific operations. For tower contractors, a height exclusion is a dealbreaker. It eliminates coverage for essentially all productive work — tower erection, antenna installation, line work, maintenance, and inspection all occur well above any standard height exclusion threshold. A tower contractor operating with a height exclusion in their policy has effectively no coverage for their core operations.

Many tower contractors are unaware that their policies contain height exclusions because the exclusion is often buried deep in the policy form or added via endorsement. The certificate of insurance will not reveal a height exclusion — certificates summarize coverage and limits but do not disclose exclusions. To check for height exclusions, you must review the actual policy documents, not just the certificate or declarations page. Request the full policy from your broker, including all endorsements. Search for the following terms: height, elevation, feet, stories, above ground, above grade, scaffold, ladder, rooftop, elevated work, and aerial. Any reference to these terms in an exclusionary context indicates a potential height exclusion. Common locations where height exclusions appear include the GL policy form exclusion section (look for a specific endorsement number such as CG 21 35, CG 21 49, or manuscript equivalents), the umbrella policy's self-insured retention section (some umbrellas do not exclude height work outright but impose a self-insured retention for claims above a certain height), and contractor limitation endorsements that restrict coverage to specified types of work at specified heights. Also check for indirect height limitations. Some policies do not use an explicit height exclusion but instead limit coverage to specified work types that implicitly exclude tower work. For example, a policy that covers only ground-level electrical work, commercial construction up to 3 stories, or interior tenant improvements would not cover tower work even without an explicit height exclusion. If you discover a height exclusion, do not assume it can simply be removed from your current policy. Most carriers that include height exclusions do so because they do not want the exposure. Requesting removal will likely result in either a declination or a referral to the carrier's specialty division (if one exists).

Removing a height exclusion is either straightforward or impossible, depending on your carrier. There is no middle ground. If your current carrier is a specialty tower or telecom insurance market, the height exclusion may have been included in error or may not exist in the first place. Contact your broker and request written confirmation that the policy does not contain any height limitation or exclusion. If an exclusion was included, the specialty carrier can typically remove it via endorsement at the next policy change or renewal. If your current carrier is a standard commercial insurance market that does not specialize in tower work, the height exclusion exists intentionally and will not be removed. The carrier does not have the underwriting appetite, pricing, or claims expertise to handle tower-height exposures. In this case, the policy must be moved to a specialty market that writes tower contractors. The transition process involves your broker submitting the account to specialty tower insurance carriers with a complete application package: ACORD applications, five-year loss runs, EMR history, fleet schedule, equipment list, safety program documentation, crew experience and certifications, and current client/MSA list. The specialty carrier will quote coverage without the height exclusion (or on a form that never included one), and the policy can be bound once terms are accepted. Timeline for transitioning from a standard market to a specialty market is typically 3-6 weeks for a new placement, or it can be coordinated with the existing policy renewal date to avoid mid-term cancellation fees. Cost impact: specialty tower insurance programs without height exclusions are priced for the actual risk of tower work. If you were previously insured under a standard commercial program with a height exclusion, your premium will increase — sometimes significantly — because you are now paying for coverage that actually covers your operations. This is not an additional cost; it is the accurate cost of the coverage you need.

Once the height exclusion has been removed or a new policy issued without one, verification is essential. Do not rely on verbal assurances from the broker or carrier. Get it in writing. For the GL policy: obtain the endorsement that deletes the height exclusion and review it carefully. The endorsement should reference the specific exclusion being removed and state clearly that it is deleted in its entirety. If the policy was issued on a form that never contained a height exclusion, obtain written confirmation from the underwriter stating that no height limitation applies. For the umbrella policy: the same verification process applies, but with an additional check. The umbrella must follow form over the GL without reintroducing restrictions that the GL removed. Some umbrellas are written on their own independent forms that may contain height exclusions even when the underlying GL does not. Review the umbrella's exclusion section and any applicable endorsements. For the certificate of insurance: request that your broker include a notation in the Description of Operations section confirming height exclusion removal. Common wording: 'General liability and umbrella policies do not contain height exclusions or height limitations.' While this notation is not a coverage guarantee (certificates are informational documents, not policy amendments), it provides documentary evidence that the broker confirmed the absence of height exclusions and satisfies most MSA certificate requirements. Annual verification: repeat this verification at every policy renewal. Carriers occasionally add endorsements at renewal that were not present in the prior term. A height exclusion added at renewal — intentionally or by error — can go unnoticed until a claim is denied. Make height exclusion verification a standard checklist item in your renewal process.