Additional insured
What additional insured status gives a general contractor, the difference from a certificate holder, and the two halves of the coverage.
These two terms get used interchangeably by contractors and they are not the same thing at all. Getting them confused is how a subcontractor ends up with a certificate that satisfies nobody.
A certificate holder is a party that receives a certificate of insurance. They get a piece of paper confirming your policy exists. They have no rights under that policy and cannot claim on it.
An additional insured is a party named on your policy itself. They get actual protection under it. If a claim arises from your work, their own insurer may not have to respond, because your policy is primary.
When a sub's work causes damage, the claim can reach the general contractor because they hired and supervised the sub. Being named as additional insured means your policy responds to that claim rather than their own.
Review my requirementCovers the general contractor while your work is in progress. An injury on site, or damage caused during construction, falls here. Most contractors have this and assume they are finished.
Covers the general contractor after your work is finished. A construction defect claim, or an injury caused by something you built, can arrive years later. This is where most construction claims actually land, and where cheap policies quietly leave the gap.
These four endorsements are what a careful general contractor is actually asking for when they say they need to be added. Asking for them at quote stage is far easier than requesting them after the policy is bound, which is where the delays come from.
If the contract requires it, yes, and most construction contracts do. Read the insurance requirement section rather than assuming, because it usually specifies additional insured, a waiver of subrogation, and whether completed operations is included.
Usually nothing, or very little, when it is done at the start. Blanket additional insured endorsements cover all your contracts without naming each party, which is why they are worth having in place before you need them.
It means your policy pays first, without asking the general contractor's policy to contribute. Without it, two insurers can spend months arguing about shares while the claim waits.
No. Additional insured status applies to claims arising from work performed after the endorsement takes effect. Requesting it after a loss does not work, which is why it belongs in the quote.
Send us your contract's insurance requirement and a licensed specialist will tell you exactly what it calls for.
