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County Of Sonoma › Administrative Support & Fiscal Services › Human Resources › Divisions and Units › Liability and Insurance › Insurance › Help & Support › Contract Insurance Requirements - Reference Guide › Additional Insured Endorsements
Liability & Insurance

Additional Insured Endorsements

Liability & Insurance 750

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Read next: Commercial Auto Insurance - Business Auto Policy (BAP)

Basic Concepts

  • An additional insured is a party that does not qualify as an insured under the standard GL.  They must be added by an endorsement that changes the “who is an insured” section of the policy.
  • Additional insured endorsements limit coverage to a specific relationship or set of circumstances.
  • The additional insured endorsement for an agreement must match the relationship between the parties.  Example: We gave Sonoma County Vintners, a not-for-profit association, a license agreement allowing them to use our parking lot for an event.  Their insurance broker provided an endorsement granting additional insured status for liability arising out of food contributions made by us, or out of our client referrals to them.  Because we were neither providing client referrals nor food donations, the endorsement did not protect us.
  • Additional insured endorsements do no increase the policy limits; the named insured and all additional insureds share the policy limits.
  • The words “you” and “your” in an additional insured endorsement refer to the named insured (the party with whom we are contracting) and not to us.

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Primary and Non-Contributory Coverage

We require additional insured endorsements to cover us on a primary and non-contributory basis so that there is no involvement of our self-insured retention or our coverage through CSAC-EIA until the limits of the policy providing additional insured status are exhausted.

Primary Coverage

The vendor’s policy pays before the additional insured’s policy or self-insurance are involved.

Non-contributory Coverage

If the vendor’s policy and the additional insured’s policy are both on a primary basis, both policies become contributing primary insurance, unless the additional insured endorsement specifies that it is non-contributory, in addition to being primary.  If the vendor’s policy and the additional insured’s policy are both on an excess basis, they become contributing primary insurance in the absence of non-contributory wording.

When both policies are deemed primary contributing insurance, they share defense costs and damages for the claim.

When we must have primary & non-contributory evidence.

Common ISO Additional Insured Endorsements

Equivalent Endorsements

We often refer to ISO additional insured endorsements but do not require that endorsements be on ISO forms.  We accept other endorsements that have equivalent or similar language.

CG 20 10 04 13: Additional Insured – Owners, Lessees or Contractors – Scheduled Person or Organization

  • Only protects the additional insured if the work is performed FOR the additional insured.  If we issue a permit and the permittee submits this endorsement, we cannot accept it because the permittee is not doing work for us and the endorsement does not protect us.
  • Covers the additional insured for liability arising from injury or damage occurring while the work is in progress.
  • Only protects the additional insured if the work is performed FOR the additional insured.  If we issue a permit and the permittee submits this endorsement, we cannot accept it because the permittee is not doing work for us and the endorsement does not protect us.
  • Does not cover the additional insured liability arising from injury/damage occurring after work is done.  That is a Completed Operations hazard; a separate additional insured endorsement is required.

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CG 20 37 04 13: Additional Insured – Owners, Lessees Or Contractors – Completed Operations

  • Covers the additional insured for liability arising from injury or damage occurring after the work is completed.
  • The important date for completed operations claims is the date when the injury or damage occurs, not the date when the faulty work was done.  That’s why we require additional insured status for some period of time after completion of the work.  Example: Sparky’s Electrical re-wires our administration building in 2015. There is damage to the building and injuries to members of the public.  We will be named in suits brought by members of the public and we will want Sparky’s policy to cover us as additional insureds for this completed operations claim.  We must be additional insureds for completed operations on Sparky’s 2016 policy because the injury/damage occurs in 2016, not in 2015.
  • Some insurers use proprietary additional insured endorsements for completed operations. Occasionally they restrict coverage to work done during the current policy period.  These are unacceptable because injury or damage from completed operations claims may occur several months after completion of the work.  If the contractor’s policy has renewed between the completion date and the injury/damage date, the endorsement, even if carried forward to the renewal policy, does not give us additional insured status. 

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CG 20 12 04 13: Additional Insured – …Governmental Agency - Permits Or Authorizations

  • Covers the additional insured (a public agency) for liability arising out of the named insured’s operations if the additional insured issued a permit or authorization. 
  • This endorsement does not protect the public agency if work is being done FOR the agency.  In that situation the appropriate additional insured endorsements are CG 20 10 and CG 20 37.
  • The endorsement applies to the issuance of either a permit or authorization, but there is no definition of “authorization”.  We prefer to accept this endorsement only when we issue a document called using the term “permit”.  For other situations, CG 20 26 is preferable.

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CG 20 26 04 13: Additional Insured – Designated Person Or Organization

  • This endorsement is a “catch-all” endorsement and is acceptable for most situations.  The exception is when we need additional insured status for completed operations with respect to work done for us by a contractor.  Then we need CG 20 37.

CG 20 11 04 13: Additional Insured – Managers Or Lessors Of Premises

  • Covers us when we have leased premises to a tenant.
  • Because it refers to leased premises, it is not acceptable when we have issued a permit for use of our premises. In that situation we need CG 20 12 or CG 20 26.
  • We prefer not to accept CG 20 11 when we issue a license agreement for use of our premises because County’s standard license agreement states that it is not a lease.  CG 20 26 is appropriate.

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Automatic or “Blanket” Additional Insured Endorsements

  • Additional insured status is automatic when required in a contract. 
  • The additional insured’s name is not on the endorsement.
  • There is no additional insured status unless there is a contract or agreement which requires it.
  • Many blanket additional insured endorsements are insurer proprietary endorsements, not ISO endorsements.
  • Sometimes insurers convert specific additional insured endorsements into blanket additional insured endorsements by inserting “as required by contract” as the name of the additional insured.  This is acceptable if we have a contract requiring additional insured status.
  • Blanket additional insured endorsements always state the scope of coverage provided to the additional insured.  The coverage must match the relationship between us and the party with whom we are contracting.

CG 20 33 - Additional Insured - Automatic Status...Construction Agreement

Insurer Proprietary Additional Insured Endorsements

  • Do not have ISO numbers or titles.
  • The language may or may not be similar to ISO endorsements.  Each must be evaluated to determine if it is appropriate for the contract.
  • The scope of insurance for the additional insured is frequently more limited than in ISO endorsements.

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