Certificates of Insurance for Architects/Engineers

There are many requests for certificates of insurance from your firms clients. Here are some notes as to what can and can’t be included in the certificate of insurance.

Professional Liability, the most common insurance for architects and engineers cannot list an additional insured on the certificate of insurance.   The reason being is your firm is the ‘professional’ on the policy and it does not allow for an additional insured of a client.

Additional insured, on most general liability policies, is allowed. The endorsements for additional insured for general liability will vary with each insurance company but generally speaking the additional insured language is allowed on the certificate of insurance. When listing an additional insured on a certificate of insurance it must state the entity specially, it cannot be a general term of ‘client’. It may also be required by contract, so verify that additional insured is referred to in the contract.

Waiver of subrogation is a common request on certificates of insurance. This typically applies to waiver of subrogation but may also be requested on general liability, automobile liability, umbrella and professional liability. It will depend on if your policy includes the waiver of subrogation to be able to include it on the certificate of insurance, but typically it is included. Again, the language in most policies will require the waiver of subrogation in the contract.

The description of operations box may include additional information with regards to the project, the additional insured, waivers of subrogation, etc. It will vary on what can and cannot be included in the description box, but most common items can be added.

The key to the certificate of insurance to remember is it is a highlight of your firm’s coverage and does not replace the policy. If you have any questions with regards to certificates of insurance call or email your Professional Underwriters agent for assistance.