How Do You Get Added as Additional Insured?

Being the certificate holder means the certificate was sent to you. What additional insured status covers is in the glossary. ACORD, which publishes the standard certificates, says a certificate "is NOT an insurance policy, and does not serve to provide, endorse, amend, extend, or alter in any way the terms of an insurance policy. Only an endorsement, rider, or amendment to the policy can effect changes in coverage" (ACORD FAQ).

State regulators say the same. New York's Department of Financial Services describes Insurance Law § 502 as barring a certificate from amending, extending or altering the coverage the policy provides (NY DFS). The Texas Department of Insurance's certificate FAQ addresses a common request directly: when the policy has only a blanket additional-insured endorsement, the certificate may not name the holder as an additional insured, "though the certificate can state that the policy contains a Blanket Additional Insured endorsement."

Start from the prime contract, because the owner's list sets yours. On an AIA job, the A201–2017 summary says the owner, architect and architect's consultants "shall be named as additional insureds under the Contractor's commercial general liability policy or as otherwise described in the Contract Documents"; most GCs pass the same list down. The AIA contract documents explainer shows where that sits.

• Name every party the prime contract lists: GC, owner, and others such as the architect or a lender, with their exact legal names.
• Ask for ongoing and completed operations. Many claims come after the work is finished, so coverage for completed work matters as much as coverage during it.
• Say whether the coverage must be primary and non-contributory, and whether you want a waiver of subrogation. They are separate wordings, often separate endorsements.
• Say which policies: general liability always; auto and umbrella too if the exhibit requires them.
• Ask for the endorsement copy by form number and edition, not a sentence on the certificate.

Notice what was checked. The certificate could not name the three parties because the policy uses a blanket endorsement, and that is fine as long as the written subcontract requires them. What would not be fine is a certificate that says "additional insured" with no endorsement behind it. For reading the rest of the form, see how to read a certificate of insurance.

In Conflo's Compliance tool, the GC requests each sub's general liability, auto, workers' comp and umbrella certificates. The sub uploads the certificate and can attach several files to it, such as its endorsements. The GC's review asks it to check limits, dates and additional insureds, and a document can be sent back with a note, for example that the owner isn't listed as additional insured.

Endorsements are not tracked as documents of their own today: they travel with the certificate they belong to. A required certificate that is missing, expired or waiting for review puts that sub's payments on hold, and the hold shows on its pay apps.

Additional-insured status lives in an endorsement, so ask for the endorsement. Write who, which policies and for how long into the subcontract, and check what comes back against it.

A blanket endorsement is fine when your subcontract requires the coverage in writing; a certificate that only says "additional insured" is not proof of anything.

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1. Certificates of Insurance: Frequently Asked Questions — ACORD. Read October 22, 2026.
2. Certificates of Insurance Frequently Asked Questions — Texas Department of Insurance. Read October 22, 2026.
3. Certificates of Insurance — New York State Department of Financial Services. Read October 22, 2026.
4. Summary: A201–2017, General Conditions of the Contract for Construction — AIA Contract Documents. Read October 22, 2026.