Concrete leveling has evolved significantly over the past decade. Traditional mudjacking (injecting a cement-soil-water slurry) and modern polyjacking (injecting expanding polyurethane foam) are both effective methods — but they carry meaningfully different insurance risks, and your policy should reflect which method you use.
What Is Mudjacking?
Mudjacking — also called slabjacking, concrete raising, or pressure grouting — involves drilling holes in a settled concrete slab and pumping a cementitious grout mixture (typically Portland cement, soil, and water) beneath the slab to lift it back to grade.
Key characteristics: - Material: heavy, cementitious slurry - Weight: adds significant mass beneath the slab - Cure time: several hours to days - Long-term: generally stable, but heavier material can re-settle in soft soils - Equipment: pump trucks, mixing tanks, hoses
What Is Polyjacking?
Polyjacking (also called polyurethane foam lifting, foam jacking, or poly leveling) involves injecting expanding polyurethane foam through small-diameter holes. The foam expands to fill voids and lift the slab.
Key characteristics: - Material: expanding polyurethane foam (chemical compound) - Weight: very lightweight — doesn't add load to the subgrade - Cure time: 15-30 minutes - Long-term: foam doesn't erode or wash out - Equipment: specialized foam injection pumps, heated hoses, chemical drums
How Insurance Risks Differ
Mudjacking Risks
Property damage from over-injection is the most common mudjacking claim. If too much grout is pumped beneath a slab, it can lift the slab unevenly, crack it, or damage adjacent structures like steps, garage walls, or door frames. Your GL policy needs to explicitly cover this — some standard policies try to exclude it as "expected damage."
Slurry spills and cleanup can occur when hoses fail or connections break. Cementitious slurry spills are generally not a pollution concern (cement is not considered a hazardous pollutant in most jurisdictions), so standard GL pollution exclusions typically don't apply.
Equipment weight and setup — mudjacking equipment is heavy and can damage driveways, lawns, or soft soils during setup. This is a general property damage risk covered under standard GL.
Completed operations claims are common in mudjacking because cementitious grout can erode, compress, or wash out over time. A customer might call back 6-12 months later claiming the slab has re-settled. Completed operations coverage is essential.
Polyjacking Risks
Chemical spill liability is unique to polyjacking. Polyurethane foam is a chemical compound that expands upon injection. If foam migrates laterally beneath the slab — especially through cracks or voids — it can surface in unexpected places, enter storm drains, or damage buried utilities. Many GL policies have broad pollution exclusions that can be applied to foam spills. You may need a pollution liability endorsement.
Foam migration claims are a specific risk where expanding foam travels farther than intended, causing void-filling in areas that weren't targeted. This can shift adjacent slabs, affect foundation drainage, or cause unexpected heave in nearby concrete.
Higher equipment value — polyjacking rigs with heated hoses, calibrated pumps, and chemical storage systems are significantly more expensive than mudjacking equipment. A tools and equipment policy for a polyjacking contractor should reflect this higher value.
Regulatory concerns vary by state. Some states are beginning to scrutinize polyurethane foam products for environmental reasons. Staying current on state regulations is important for compliance and coverage.
What Should Your Policy Cover?
Whether you use mudjacking, polyjacking, or both, your policy should:
1. Explicitly cover concrete injection operations — not just "general contractor" work 2. Include completed operations coverage — claims arising after the job is finished 3. Address subsurface work exclusions — ensure they're removed or don't apply 4. For polyjacking: add pollution liability — to cover foam spills and migration 5. Match equipment values to your actual gear — especially for polyjacking rigs
Talk to a Specialist
The nuances between mudjacking and polyjacking insurance are exactly the kind of thing that gets lost in translation when you're buying from a generalist broker. At Contractors Choice Agency, we write policies for both methods and make sure the coverage actually fits what you do.
Call us at 844-967-5247 or get a quote online. 15 minutes and you'll know exactly where you stand.