What Is an Additional Insured?

Coverage flows through an endorsement, and the wording of that endorsement sets the scope. Some forms add a scheduled party by name; others add anyone the insured is required by written contract to include, which is called a blanket endorsement. Forms differ on whether they cover ongoing operations, completed operations, or both, and on whether coverage is limited to liability caused by the named insured. The additional insured shares the same limits as the policyholder and does not receive a separate limit.

Contracts drive nearly every request. A general contractor asks a subcontractor to include it, a landlord asks a tenant, a venue asks an event vendor. The producer reads the insurance clause, confirms the policy has the right endorsement, issues a certificate that references it, and keeps the endorsement on file. Agencies that can add a blanket endorsement the same day often win contractor accounts, because the client’s next job is waiting on the paperwork.

A certificate that lists a party does not make it an additional insured; the endorsement must be on the policy. Coverage can be narrower than the contract demands, for example covering ongoing work but not completed operations, which leaves the client short when a claim arrives after the job. And because limits are shared, a claim by an additional insured can erode the limits available to the named insured.