CG 20 10
Additional insured, ongoing operations. Covers the holder for claims arising from work while it is being performed. This is the one most contracts name first.
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Certificates and contracts
Why your certificate got rejected, and what the wording actually means.
General contractors reject certificates over wording far more often than over limits. Here is what the requirements in your contract actually mean, in the order they usually appear.
The problem
The endorsements behind the request
A certificate of insurance is not a policy and it does not grant coverage. It is a snapshot of what is in force on the day it is issued. When a general contractor asks to be named as an additional insured, they are asking for an endorsement to be added to your policy, and the certificate is just evidence that it happened.
That distinction is why a certificate can be issued correctly and the underlying coverage still be wrong. Reading the contract before the policy is bound is the only reliable way to avoid it.
Coverage
What we place, and what to read before you rely on it.
CG 20 37
Additional insured, completed operations. Covers the holder after the work is finished. Contracts frequently require both, and an agent supplying only CG 20 10 is a common cause of rejection.
Primary and non-contributory
Means your policy pays first and does not ask the holder's own insurer to share. Without this wording the two carriers can argue while the claim sits.
Waiver of subrogation
Gives up your carrier's right to recover from the holder after paying a claim. Frequently required on both general liability and workers compensation, and it is a separate endorsement on each.
Notice of cancellation
A request to notify the holder if the policy cancels. Standard forms limit what a carrier will actually promise here, so the contract language and the form language often differ.
Per project aggregate
Keeps one bad job from consuming the aggregate limit protecting every other job you have running.
Submission
Before you sign the contract
Having these ready is the difference between an indication in two days and a submission that sits for three weeks.
- Send us the insurance requirements exhibit, not just the certificate request
- Check whether completed operations is required, not only ongoing operations
- Check the required limits against your current policy, including umbrella
- Check whether a waiver of subrogation is required on workers compensation as well as liability
- Check whether a per project aggregate is required
- Confirm the exact legal name and address of the holder to be named
Related
Send the declarations page and we will tell you what is actually covered.
No fee to shop your coverage. If the standard market will not write it, we go to surplus lines and explain the difference before you sign anything.
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