Certificate of insurance requests for architects/engineers-

Your firm will receive certificate of insurance requests from your clients on projects. Here are some of the more common requests that are seen on certificates of insurance.

Additional insured

The most common request on certificates of insurance is the additional insured language. This is often confused with what a contractor has on their policy and from time to time architects/engineers are lumped in that category. Here are some clarifications on the additional insured for an architect/engineer. There cannot be an additional insured on Professional Liability policies. Your firm’s client is not the professional on the policy and therefore will not be able to be named as additional insured on the Professional Liability policy. The additional insured language is more frequently used on the general liability policy. The additional insured on general liability policy can be accomplished as long as there is a blanket additional insured endorsement on the policy or policy has a scheduled additional insured list. The additional insured for general liability may also be listed as required by written contract. Workers Compensation policies will not allow for an additional insured, this is a policy for work related injuries for employees of your firm.

30 day notice of cancellation

Most insurance companies will provide 30 day notice of cancellation to certificate holders. There are a few provisions that the insurance companies will not provide notice for, such as 10 day notice for non-payment, notice for material changes and notice sent by certified mail. In most cases the notice of cancellation will need to be endorsed on the policy as a blanket endorsement. However, some insurance companies may list each specific client for the notice.

Waiver of subrogation

The request for waiver of subrogation is typical on workers compensation but may also be requested on the general liability and professional liability policies. The workers compensation policy will need to be endorsed for the waiver of subrogation unless the policy has a blanket waiver of subrogation. The general liability and professional liability policies typically have the waiver included in the policy, however be sure to double check your policy. The automatic waiver may also request that it is by written contract.

Primary and non-contributory

This language is only available with the general liability policy and most commonly included in the blanket additional insured endorsement. This will not be available on the workers compensation or professional liability policies.

With the specific language on certificate of insurance requests be sure you check with your agent to find out if it requires an endorsement or if your policy already has the endorsement included. If you have questions please call or email your Professional Underwriter agent.