View source for Definition:Additional insured

🛡️ '''Additional insured''' is a party other than the [[Definition:Named insured | named insured]] who is added to a [[Definition:Commercial insurance | commercial insurance]] policy—most commonly a [[Definition:Commercial general liability (CGL) | commercial general liability]] policy—so that it also receives [[Definition:Coverage | coverage]] for certain [[Definition:Liability | liabilities]] arising from its relationship with the policyholder. The arrangement is pervasive in construction, real estate, and professional services, where contracts routinely require one party to extend its insurance protection to another as a condition of doing business.

🔗 An additional insured is typically added through an [[Definition:Endorsement | endorsement]] attached to the policy, which spells out the scope of coverage the added party receives. Some endorsements grant broad ongoing-operations-and-completed-operations protection, while others limit coverage strictly to [[Definition:Vicarious liability | vicarious liability]] caused by the named insured's acts. [[Definition:Underwriter | Underwriters]] evaluate additional-insured requests carefully because each addition widens the policy's [[Definition:Exposure | exposure]], potentially increasing [[Definition:Claims | claims]] and complicating [[Definition:Subrogation | subrogation]] rights. The [[Definition:Certificate of insurance (COI) | certificate of insurance]] that accompanies the endorsement serves as evidence to the additional insured that it has been added, though the certificate itself does not confer coverage—only the endorsement does.

📌 Getting the additional-insured mechanism right is a significant operational and risk-management concern for [[Definition:Insurance carrier | carriers]], [[Definition:Insurance broker | brokers]], and [[Definition:Managing general agent (MGA) | MGAs]] alike. Disputes over whether an additional insured's claim falls within the endorsement's scope are among the most litigated issues in liability insurance. For [[Definition:Insurtech | insurtechs]] building automated [[Definition:Policy issuance | policy-issuance]] and [[Definition:Certificate management | certificate management]] platforms, properly structuring additional-insured workflows—including real-time endorsement generation and compliance tracking—has become a key product differentiator.

'''Related concepts'''
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* [[Definition:Named insured]]
* [[Definition:Endorsement]]
* [[Definition:Certificate of insurance (COI)]]
* [[Definition:Commercial general liability (CGL)]]
* [[Definition:Waiver of subrogation]]
* [[Definition:Additional insured endorsement]]
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