What does follow-form mean for a tower contractor umbrella policy?

Follow-form means the umbrella policy adopts the coverage terms, conditions, and exclusions of the underlying policies (GL, auto, employers liability) without modification. A true follow-form umbrella provides additional limits on exactly the same basis as your primary coverage. If your GL covers work at height without exclusion, the follow-form umbrella also covers work at height without exclusion. This is critical for tower contractors because some umbrella carriers add their own exclusions that do not exist in the primary GL. Common problematic umbrella exclusions include: height exclusions added at the umbrella layer even when the primary GL has none, professional services exclusions that could exclude engineering or design work, and independent contractor exclusions. A non-follow-form umbrella that adds a height exclusion effectively caps your tower work coverage at the primary GL limit (typically $1M/$2M), which is inadequate for serious claims. When reviewing umbrella proposals, request the exclusion schedule and compare it to your primary GL. Any exclusion in the umbrella that does not exist in the primary creates a coverage gap at the layer where catastrophic claims live.