Additional Insured, Primary and Non-Contributory — Explained

What an AI endorsement does

An Additional Insured endorsement extends your liability coverage to another party — your GC, the property owner, the project manager. If a third party sues the GC for something arising out of your work, your policy can defend and indemnify the GC. That's why GCs demand it: your work, your policy, your problem to defend.

Primary & non-contributory

By default, when two policies cover the same loss, they share. "Primary and non-contributory" wording flips that: your policy pays first and in full, and the AI's own policy doesn't have to contribute. Commercial contracts require it because the GC doesn't want their loss history touched by your claim.

The mistakes — and the fixes

• Blanket vs. scheduled AI. A blanket "where required by written contract" endorsement covers everyone you're contractually obligated to. A scheduled endorsement names specific parties — and misses anyone not listed. For active contractors, blanket is usually the right call.
• Ongoing vs. completed operations. Some AI endorsements cover only ongoing operations and drop off when the job's done — leaving the GC unprotected for a claim that surfaces later. Make sure yours includes completed operations where the contract requires it.
• The COI says it, the policy doesn't. The certificate is not the coverage. We map your contracts to actual endorsements at bind so the two match.

This is the heart of our COI workflow. Related: What Your COI Actually Needs.