An Additional Insured Clause can be an important part of your Commercial General Liability Insurance. If you hire independent contractors / subcontractors to do work for you, your business should be added as an Additional Insured with Waiver of Subrogation to their Commercial General Liability. A few examples are:
Construction General Contractors hire independents for various types of work – framing, roofing, plumbing, landscaping, etc. Requiring a Certificate of Insurance from the independents every year confirms they are still listed on the policy. If an independent doesn’t carry General Liability, the GC could be brought into a claim that should have been covered if the independent carried their own GL. Certificates also help General Contractors at audit time proving their independents insure themselves. . Otherwise their costs could be charged against the GC as payroll on the audit which can generate significantly higher premiums.
Many cities hold town celebrations hiring independent contractors to supply and operate parts of the activities. They include, but aren’t limited to, a band or DJ for a street dance, inflatable bounce houses, fireworks, kiddie pedal tractor pulls, etc. If independent contractors don’t carry their own coverage, the city could be held responsible. Say a child is unfortunately injured in an inflatable bounce house, if the city was properly named as an Additional Insurance with Waiver of Subrogation on the owner/operator’s insurance, the city would be protected in the suit. Otherwise they could be held responsible for damages. Requiring Certificates of Insurance prior to the event is a good way for the city to protect themselves.
On the flip side, if you are the independent contractor working for someone else, you may be required to add them as an Additional Insured. An important thing to note when doing so is your liability limits are now shared with them. The more Additional Insured’s added, the more parties who could use up your General Liability limit. Increasing your GL limits or adding Excess General Liability helps protect you. Erickson-Larsen Inc and Bjornson/Sentinel-E&L offer these coverage’s and many others. Please contact us for your insurance needs. We are here to help! Visit our website: www.ericksonlarseninc.com.
Disclaimer: This post is intended for general information purposes only. The information contained is not intended to constitute and should not be considered legal or professional advice, nor does it represent that coverage does or does not exist for any particular claim or loss under any policy.