Additional insured vs certificate holder: what a GC needs

Two names appear on almost every certificate of insurance a general contractor collects: the certificate holder and, often, an additional insured. They sound similar and they sit near each other on the form, but they mean very different things. Being the certificate holder gives you a piece of paper. Being an additional insured gives you coverage under the sub's policy.

This guide explains the difference in plain language and how to check that a sub's certificate gives you what your subcontract asks for. It is not legal advice: what you need is set by your contracts, and your insurance broker is the right person to review anything unusual.

The short answer

• Certificate holder: the person or company the certificate was issued to. It is the address block at the bottom left of the ACORD 25. The certificate holder receives information about the sub's insurance and gets no coverage from it.
• Additional insured: a person or company added to the sub's policy, by an endorsement, so that the policy covers them too, for claims arising out of the sub's work, within the limits the endorsement sets.

You will usually be both: the certificate holder, because the certificate is sent to you, and an additional insured, because your subcontract requires it. The point of checking is to make sure the second one is real.

Side by side

Why the certificate alone does not make you an additional insured

The ACORD 25 says, in its own words, that it is issued as a matter of information only, confers no rights on the certificate holder, and does not change the coverage of the policies it lists. It also says that if the certificate holder is an additional insured, the policy must have additional insured provisions or be endorsed.

In other words, a "Y" in the ADDL INSD column, or a line in the description box saying your company is an additional insured, is the agent's summary. The coverage exists only if the policy actually includes it. That is why many GCs ask for copies of the endorsement pages, not just the certificate.

Ongoing and completed operations

Additional insured coverage is not one thing. Two questions matter most:

• Ongoing operations: covers you for claims arising out of the sub's work while it is being performed.
• Completed operations: covers you for claims arising out of the sub's finished work after the job is done, such as a defect that causes damage months later.

Many subcontracts require both. In standard ISO policy language, these are often two separate endorsements; the forms commonly named in contracts are CG 20 10 for ongoing operations and CG 20 37 for completed operations, though insurers also use their own forms and editions differ. If your contract asks for both, check that you have evidence of both.

Scheduled or blanket

An additional insured endorsement either names you specifically (scheduled) or covers anyone the sub has agreed in a written contract to add (blanket). Blanket endorsements are common and save the agent paperwork, but they usually depend on the written contract: if your subcontract does not require additional insured status, a blanket endorsement may not cover you. Make sure the requirement is in the signed subcontract before the work starts.

What to ask the sub's agent for

When you request a certificate, ask for:

• Your company as certificate holder, with your exact legal name and address.
• Your company, and anyone else your contract lists, as additional insureds for ongoing and completed operations.
• Copies of the additional insured endorsement pages, or the blanket endorsement, attached to the certificate.
• Any other endorsements your contract requires, such as a waiver of subrogation or primary and noncontributory wording, also as copies.

Our request templates include this wording ready to paste.

A quick check when the certificate arrives

• Certificate holder is your exact legal name and address
• ADDL INSD is marked on the general liability line (and others your contract names, such as auto or umbrella)
• The description box names the additional insureds your contract requires, or the endorsement is blanket
• Endorsement pages are attached and name the right parties, or are blanket by written contract
• Both ongoing and completed operations are covered, if your contract requires both
• The policy dates cover the work, including the period after completion your contract specifies
• Anything that does not match goes back to the agent before the sub starts

Common misunderstandings

"We're on the certificate, so we're covered." Being named on a certificate, as holder or even in the description box, is not coverage by itself. The endorsement is.

"The certificate says they'll notify us if the policy is cancelled." The current ACORD 25 says notice will be delivered according to the policy's provisions. Unless the policy or an endorsement promises you notice, assume you will not get it, and track the expiration dates yourself.

"The sub sent last year's certificate with us as additional insured, so we're fine this year." Additional insured status is part of a policy, and policies renew. A renewal can change endorsements. Check each renewal.

Keeping it current

The check above happens once per certificate, and certificates turn over every year for every sub. COI Nudge keeps the renewals coming: subs upload certificates through one link, it reads the expiry dates, and it emails the sub and their insurance agent at 30, 14 and 7 days before a policy lapses, until a new certificate arrives, so the next certificate is in front of you to check before the old one runs out.