What Is a Scheduled Additional Insured Endorsement?

A scheduled additional insured endorsement is an amendment to a commercial general liability (CGL) policy that names a specific third party on the endorsement form and extends the policy’s coverage to that party for liability connected to the named insured’s operations or premises. Commercial leases, construction contracts, and service agreements routinely require one before work begins, and failing to secure it can put you in breach of contract even when the underlying work is done perfectly. The protection runs only to liability tied to your work or your use of the premises, not to anything the third party does on its own.

Scheduled Versus Blanket Endorsements

A scheduled endorsement lists the specific entity by name directly on the form. The carrier reviews the request, adds that exact party, and issues a revised policy document confirming the addition. The named party has a concrete record showing it appears on your policy, which removes ambiguity when a claim surfaces.

A blanket endorsement works differently. It automatically grants additional insured status to any party you are contractually obligated to cover, without listing anyone individually. It activates when a signed contract requires the coverage, so the additional insured never appears by name on the policy. Blanket forms cut paperwork and prevent oversights when you’re juggling many contracts, but the trade-off is real: the additional insured cannot confirm coverage just by looking at the policy and depends entirely on the contract language correctly triggering the blanket provision.

Many parties on the receiving end prefer being scheduled by name because it eliminates any question about whether contract language activated a blanket provision properly. If a certificate claims you’re covered under a blanket endorsement but the contract language doesn’t match the endorsement’s activation requirements, you could discover during a claim that you have no coverage at all. That is why some contracts specifically require a scheduled endorsement rather than accepting blanket coverage.

What the Endorsement Actually Covers

Scope depends on which ISO form is attached. Each form has a different purpose, and the wrong one is a common and expensive mistake.

Ongoing Operations (CG 20 10)

The CG 20 10 covers the additional insured for liability connected to the named insured’s ongoing operations. If a subcontractor’s employee injures someone while actively performing work at your site, this form responds. The important limit is timing: once the work is finished, the CG 20 10 stops providing protection.¹

Completed Operations (CG 20 37)

The CG 20 37 picks up where the CG 20 10 leaves off. It covers claims arising from the named insured’s completed work. If a contractor finishes a roofing job and the roof fails six months later, injuring someone, the CG 20 37 responds for the property owner listed on the endorsement. Many contracts require both forms together to avoid a gap between active work and post-completion liability.²

Designated Person or Organization (CG 20 26)

The CG 20 26 is broader than the CG 20 10. It covers liability arising from both your ongoing operations and your premises. Landlords commonly require this form from tenants because it reaches injuries connected to how the tenant uses the rented space, not just a specific project. If a customer slips in a tenant’s store, the landlord has coverage under this endorsement as long as the tenant’s acts or omissions contributed to the injury.³

The “Caused By” Standard

Modern ISO additional insured endorsements cover the additional insured for liability “caused, in whole or in part, by” the named insured’s acts or omissions.¹ That phrase draws the line at sole negligence. If the named insured played some role in causing the harm, the additional insured has coverage. If the additional insured was entirely at fault and the named insured did nothing wrong, the endorsement provides no defense or indemnity.

Some insurers initially argued the revised language limited coverage to vicarious liability only. Courts have overwhelmingly rejected that reading. The majority rule treats “caused, in whole or in part, by” as requiring only that the named insured contributed to the loss in some way, covering the additional insured’s contributory negligence alongside the named insured’s fault. Sole-negligence scenarios are rare in practice, since most jobsite injuries involve some shared responsibility.

Shared Limits and the Contract Cap

The additional insured does not get a separate pool of insurance. They share the policy’s existing limits with the named insured. Most CGL policies carry a $1,000,000 per-occurrence limit and a $2,000,000 aggregate limit, and the additional insured draws from those same numbers.

Modern endorsements add a second cap: the additional insured’s coverage cannot exceed the amount required by the written contract. If your lease requires $1,000,000 in coverage but the policy actually carries $2,000,000 per occurrence, your protection is capped at the $1,000,000 the contract specifies.³ The real coverage available is always the lesser of what the contract requires or what the policy provides.

When multiple parties are sued simultaneously and the policy pays out several claims, the shared limit shrinks for everyone. If the named insured faces a large claim of its own, the pot left for you can be smaller than expected. That’s one reason many parties also require umbrella or excess liability coverage.

Primary and Noncontributory Coverage

Contracts frequently require the named insured’s policy to pay first when the additional insured also has its own insurance. This is called “primary and noncontributory” coverage. Without it, both policies can be treated as co-primary and split costs proportionally, which is a problem for the additional insured because their own premiums and loss history take a hit for work they didn’t perform.

ISO form CG 20 01 does this work. It stipulates that the named insured’s CGL policy will not seek contribution from any other insurance available to the additional insured, provided two conditions are met: the additional insured is a named insured on its own policy, and the named insured agreed in writing to provide primary and noncontributory coverage.⁴ If your contract requires this protection, verify that CG 20 01 or equivalent language is actually attached. A contract clause demanding primary and noncontributory coverage is unenforceable on its own without the matching endorsement on the policy.

Waiver of Subrogation

Additional insured status and a waiver of subrogation are often required together, and they do different jobs. The additional insured endorsement gives you defense and indemnity for covered claims. A waiver of subrogation prevents the named insured’s carrier from suing you to recover money it paid out on a claim.

Here is where it matters. If a claim falls outside the scope of the additional insured endorsement, or the loss exceeds the contractual limits, the carrier can pay the claim and then come after you for reimbursement. The waiver blocks that recovery. On a CGL policy, this is accomplished through ISO form CG 24 04, which prevents the carrier from exercising any right of recovery against the party named in the waiver schedule.

The two protections complement each other. Additional insured status covers you when a claim fits within the endorsement’s scope. The waiver covers you when it doesn’t. If a contract requires only the additional insured endorsement, the gap can cost significantly in a large or unusual loss.

What to Gather Before Requesting the Endorsement

Start with the underlying contract, lease, or service agreement. Its insurance requirements section drives everything. Pull the following before contacting your broker:

The full legal name and address of the entity requesting additional insured status, exactly as it appears in corporate filings or the contract. A misspelled name, or naming a parent when the contract is with a subsidiary, can give an insurer grounds to deny coverage.
The relationship type, because the endorsement has to match it. A landlord-tenant arrangement calls for different ISO forms than a general contractor-subcontractor arrangement.
The required coverage limits, including any umbrella requirement.
Any specific endorsement language the contract demands, such as exact ISO form editions, primary and noncontributory wording, or waiver of subrogation.
The project or premises description, since construction endorsements may require the specific job site address and scope of work on the endorsement schedule.

Sending a copy of the insurance requirements section to your broker eliminates back-and-forth. The broker can compare the contract against your current policy and flag gaps before submitting the request.

How the Request Moves

You submit the completed request to your agent or broker, usually through an agency portal or email. The broker reviews it for completeness and forwards it to the carrier’s underwriting department. Underwriters evaluate whether the third party and the scope of work fit the policy’s risk appetite. A standard landlord addition on a retail lease usually clears underwriting within a day or two. Complex construction exposures can take several business days.

The carrier may charge a flat fee or adjust the annual premium. Many standard additions cost under $50, though specialized risks or large projects push the number higher. Once underwriting approves and any payment clears, the insurer issues a revised declarations page confirming the policy has been formally amended.

Why a Certificate of Insurance Is Not Enough

Every standard ACORD certificate of insurance carries a disclaimer at the top stating that the certificate “is issued as a matter of information only and confers no rights upon the certificate holder” and “does not affirmatively or negatively amend, extend or alter the coverage afforded by the policies.”⁵ Most people never read it, and the consequences are real.

A certificate stating you’re listed as an additional insured does not guarantee the endorsement was actually added. Brokers sometimes issue certificates before the carrier has processed the endorsement, or the request gets lost. When a claim comes in and the insurer pulls the actual policy, the certificate is irrelevant. If the endorsement isn’t there, you have no coverage regardless of what the certificate says.

Always request a copy of the actual endorsement. The endorsement is the legal document that modifies the policy; the certificate is a snapshot that can be wrong. If a broker hands you only a certificate, push back and ask for the endorsement itself.

Protecting Against Policy Cancellation

Standard additional insured endorsements like the CG 20 10 and CG 20 26 contain no requirement that the insurer notify you if the policy is canceled. If the named insured stops paying premiums and the policy lapses, your additional insured status disappears without warning.

ISO form CG 02 05 closes that gap. It obligates the insurer to send advance written notice before cancellation or material change. The form does not set a standard number of notice days. The specific period is negotiated and entered into the endorsement’s schedule.⁶ Thirty days is common for non-payment cancellations, though your contract may demand more.

If your contract doesn’t require this endorsement, consider adding it anyway. A certificate stating that the insurer will “endeavor” to provide notice creates no binding obligation. Only an endorsement attached to the policy does.

Anti-Indemnity Statutes

A growing number of states have anti-indemnity laws that restrict or void contract provisions requiring one party to cover another’s liability. The statutes were originally aimed at indemnification clauses, but many states have extended them to additional insured arrangements. The concern is that an additional insured endorsement could provide the same protection the statute was designed to prohibit.

In practice, a contract provision requiring additional insured coverage for a party’s own sole negligence may be unenforceable in states with expanded anti-indemnity laws. Roughly a dozen states restrict additional insured requirements in construction contracts to varying degrees. Some limit coverage to the named insured’s proportionate share of fault. Others void the additional insured requirement entirely when the additional insured was the sole cause of the loss.

ISO addressed this by adding the phrase “only to the extent permitted by law” to its 2013 edition endorsements.² The endorsement automatically adjusts its scope to comply with the applicable state law. If you operate in a state with anti-indemnity restrictions, the endorsement will not provide coverage the state’s statute prohibits, regardless of what the contract demands. Checking your state’s law is worth doing before you negotiate the insurance provisions of a construction contract.