Does a blanket additional insured endorsement cover every certificate holder?

No. CG 20 33 and CG 20 38 cover only parties the insured has agreed in writing to add, and only for the insured’s ongoing operations for them.

What is the difference between CG 20 33 and CG 20 38?

CG 20 33 needs a written contract between the insured and the party to be added. CG 20 38 also covers any other person or organization that same contract requires the insured to add, such as an owner above a general contractor.

Will every certificate holder accept CG 20 33?

No. Some name the forms they accept. A sample ACORD 855 NY in a 2020 request for proposals from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York marks CG 20 33 “not accepted”. Read the holder’s requirements before relying on a blanket form.

Can we show additional insured status on a certificate when the policy has a blanket endorsement such as CG 20 33 or CG 20 38?

Q: Can we show additional insured status on a certificate when the policy has a blanket endorsement such as CG 20 33 or CG 20 38?

Only when a written contract that requires the status exists, because that contract is what triggers a blanket endorsement. CG 20 33 covers a party the insured has agreed in writing, in a contract with that party, to add, and CG 20 38 also reaches other parties that same contract requires. Have the endorsement and the contract on file first, and check the state’s certificate rules: Texas lets a certificate say the policy contains a blanket endorsement but not name the holder as an additional insured.

What do the two endorsements say?

	CG 20 33 04 13	CG 20 38 04 13
Who becomes an additional insured	Any person or organization for whom the insured is performing operations, when the two have agreed in writing in a contract or agreement that it be added	The same party, plus any other person or organization the insured is required to add under that contract
Is a contract directly with that party needed?	Yes	Not for the “other” parties, as long as the contract with the first party requires them
Covers liability caused, in whole or in part, by	The insured’s acts or omissions, or those of people acting on its behalf, in the performance of ongoing operations	The same
Status ends	When the insured’s operations for that party are completed	When the insured’s operations for the party it contracted with are completed
How broad	Not broader than the contract requires, and only to the extent permitted by law	The same
Limit	The lesser of the amount the contract requires and the limits in the declarations	The same

What does “when required by written contract” mean in practice?

Neither form has a schedule of names. Status is automatic, and three things in the wording decide whether it exists for a given party. There must be an agreement “in writing in a contract or agreement”. The coverage is never broader than that agreement requires. The limit is whichever is less: the contract’s figure or the policy’s.

So the contract, not the certificate, defines who is covered and for how much. A holder with no written agreement behind it gets nothing from a blanket form, however the certificate is worded. Whether a particular document counts as a written agreement, for example a purchase order, an unsigned draft or a contract signed after a loss, is a coverage question for the insurer. It is not something an agency should settle by issuing a certificate.

Both forms apply to ongoing operations only. Completed operations need a separate endorsement such as CG 20 37. Many insurers also use their own blanket forms, with different triggers, so read the form that is actually on the policy.

What has to be on file before the certificate goes out?

The endorsement itself, on the current policy term, with its form number and edition date. A blanket form on last year’s policy proves nothing about this year’s.
The written contract or agreement, or at least the insurance clause and signature page, showing that the insured agreed to add this party.
For CG 20 33, confirmation that the contract is between the insured and the party asking. An owner or lender one step removed from the contract is not reached by this form.
For CG 20 38, the clause in that contract that names or describes the other parties to be added.
A note of what the contract requires: operations, limits, completed operations, primary wording. Anything the blanket form does not give is an endorsement request.

What may the certificate say?

The ACORD 25 warns that if the holder is an additional insured the policy must have additional insured provisions or be endorsed, and that a statement on the certificate does not confer rights in place of the endorsement. The certificate reports the endorsement. It does not decide whether the holder qualifies under it.

Texas is explicit. The Texas Department of Insurance says that where the policy contains only a blanket additional insured endorsement, the certificate may not name the holder as an additional insured, though it “can state that the policy contains a Blanket Additional Insured endorsement”. It says to check the additional insured box when the policy includes an endorsement that names the certificate holder.

Georgia’s insurance department permits a reference to a policy provision in the description of operations box by the form’s exact title, form number and edition date, with a copy attached. Citing the form and attaching it is the approach least likely to overstate coverage. Other states differ, so check the state of the risk.

Sources

General information, not legal advice or an interpretation of your policy. Policy forms and endorsements control. Form numbers are © Insurance Services Office, Inc. and are cited for reference.