Why does the contract ask for CG 20 10 11 85, and how do the later editions differ?

What does the 11 85 edition say?

The whole operative text of CG 20 10 11 85 is one sentence. It makes the scheduled person or organization an insured, “but only with respect to liability arising out of ‘your work’ for that insured by or for you.”

Two features of that sentence explain the demand for it. First, “your work” is not limited to work in progress, so one endorsement gives the owner or general contractor status for both ongoing and completed operations. Second, “arising out of” has been read as not requiring fault by the named insured. Writing in Construction Executive, Christine Cowan notes that the wording was taken to cover an additional insured even where the additional insured was wholly at fault.

The form also has none of the later limits. It does not tie coverage to what a contract requires, and it says nothing about the extent permitted by law.

How do the editions differ?

Why does the change from “arising out of” matter?

Under the earlier wording, the question after an injury was whether the claim had a connection to your work. Under the 07 04 wording the question is whether the injury was caused, at least in part, by your acts or omissions or those of someone acting for you. Cowan describes the result as requiring the named insured to be at fault or partly at fault, and gives the case that follows from it: a general contractor that is solely at fault for a loss may find no coverage under the subcontractor’s policy, even though the subcontract promised additional insured status regardless of fault.

Christopher Boggs, then of the Big “I” Virtual University, wrote in Insurance Journal that the 07 04 change appeared to limit coverage to the additional insured’s vicarious liability for the named insured’s actions. He added that the narrowing was not necessarily the intent. Either way, the later wording is a narrower promise on its face, which is why contracts still name the older edition.

What do the 04 13 limits do?

The 04 13 edition added three sentences that tie the endorsement to the contract and to the law.

• The insurance afforded to the additional insured “only applies to the extent permitted by law”. Where a state statute restricts what one party may insure for another on a construction project, this sentence makes the endorsement follow the statute.
• If the coverage is required by a contract, it “will not be broader than that which you are required by the contract or agreement to provide”. A contract that asks for less than the form would give reduces the coverage to match.
• The most the insurer will pay for the additional insured is the amount required by the contract or the amount available under the policy limits, “whichever is less”. A contract that states a minimum limit below what you carry can cap the additional insured at that minimum.
• Saxe Doernberger & Vita report that the 12 19 editions removed “shown in the Declarations” from that last sentence, so the limits are not confined to the declarations page.

The contract names 11 85. What do I do?

Find out what your insurer will issue before you sign. Boggs wrote in 2009 that many insurers no longer offered the 11 85 edition, that a few specialty insurers still did, and that there is no equivalent ISO wording. In his words, “the CG 20 10 coupled with the CG 20 37 does not provide ‘equivalent’ protection.” Some owners accept the pair instead. The City of San Diego’s insurance checklist, for example, asks for CG 20 10 11 85 or, if that is not available, CG 20 10 together with CG 20 37. Whether the pair is acceptable is the other side’s decision to make.

• Ask your broker which edition of CG 20 10 and CG 20 37 is on your policy, or which insurer form is used instead.
• Send the contract wording to the general contractor’s risk manager with the edition you can provide, and get acceptance in writing.
• If the contract sets required limits, check how the 04 13 or 12 19 limits sentence interacts with them.
• Do not let a certificate state an edition the policy does not carry.

Related questions

Can I still get CG 20 10 11 85?

Sometimes, but not from most insurers. Christopher Boggs wrote in Insurance Journal in 2009 that many insurers did not offer it and that some specialty insurers still did. Ask your broker what your insurer will issue.

Is CG 20 10 plus CG 20 37 equivalent to CG 20 10 11 85?

Not in wording. The pair restores completed operations status, but current editions use “caused, in whole or in part, by” and, from 04 13, limit coverage to what the contract requires and the law permits. Whether the pair is acceptable is for the party asking to decide.

What does “to the extent permitted by law” mean in the 04 13 edition?

It makes the additional insured’s coverage follow state law. Where a statute restricts what one party may insure for another on a construction project, the endorsement gives no more than the statute allows.