Amended Insurance Requirements for Aerial Pesticide Operators

We have changed the minimum insurance coverage requirement for licensed pesticides operators, to help ensure that smaller operators have insurance in place to cover injuries or damages resulting from pesticide application. These will reduce high insurance costs for small businesses without impacting human health or environmental protection. We have also clarified the insurance coverage requirements for ease of understanding.

More specifically, changes have been made to Section 93 of O. Reg. 63/09 (General) under the Pesticides Act, 1990, and they include:

• reduction of the minimum required amount of insurance coverage for off-target deposition from an aerial application of pesticides causing death, injury or property damage to $150,000 per incident from the current amount of $2 million per incident
• reflecting current insurance terminology and reorganizing and clarifying the insurance coverage requirements.

These changes ensure that operators are able to have required insurance in place to cover damages from pesticides application. Clarifications will assist with understanding and implementation.

This change comes into effect starting November 24, 2021 and as such operators may apply this amended coverage requirement to the remainder of the current year as well as in relation to applications for 2022 licences.