When a general contractor, landlord or shipper says “name me as certificate holder,” they usually mean “put me in the box on the certificate.” That box gets them a copy of the certificate and nothing else. The ACORD 25 says so in capital letters: it is issued as a matter of information only and confers no rights upon the certificate holder. Being an additional insured is different. It means the policy itself makes the other party an insured, by endorsement or by additional insured provisions already in the form, for claims tied to your work, to the extent the endorsement says. One is a mailing address. The other is a place on the policy. If a contract calls for coverage, it has to say “additional insured by endorsement,” and the proof is the endorsement, not the certificate.
What a certificate holder actually gets
A certificate of insurance summarizes a business’s policies for someone who is not a party to them; for liability coverage the standard form is ACORD 25. The certificate holder is the party it is issued to, named in the CERTIFICATE HOLDER box. That party gets the document: evidence the listed policies were issued for the policy period shown, at limits the form says may have been reduced by paid claims.
The holder gets no rights under the policies. The ACORD 25 header says, in capitals, that the certificate is issued as a matter of information only and confers no rights upon the certificate holder, that it does not amend, extend or alter the coverage the policies afford, and that it is not a contract between insurer, producer and holder. Texas wrote the same rule into statute: a certificate shall not confer new or additional rights beyond what the referenced policy or any executed endorsement provides. More on reading a certificate of insurance.
What an additional insured gets
An additional insured is a person or organization not automatically an insured under a policy, added as one at the named insured’s request. On a general liability policy that happens by endorsement or through additional insured provisions in the form itself. Either way the status comes from the policy’s own terms, so it takes an underwriter, not a certificate.
Once added, it can look to the named insured’s policy on claims tied to that work, within what the endorsement grants. An owner holding your indemnity agreement wants a second route to your policy if that agreement fails; additional insured status is that route.
The ACORD 25 has an ADDL INSD column and a boxed warning: if the certificate holder is an additional insured, the policies must have additional insured provisions or be endorsed, and a statement on the certificate does not confer rights in lieu of the endorsement. Texas’s insurance department tells agents to check that box if the policy has an endorsement naming the certificate holder as an additional insured. The check mark reports an endorsement; it is not one. How additional insured status works on a contractor’s policy.
The endorsements that do the work
Most contracts point to two ISO endorsements. CG 20 10 adds a scheduled person or organization for bodily injury, property damage or personal and advertising injury caused, in whole or in part, by the named insured’s acts or omissions in performing its ongoing operations for that party at the scheduled location. It stops when the work is done: the form excludes bodily injury or property damage after the work is completed or put to its intended use. CG 20 37 is the companion form, picking up the additional insured for injury or damage after the work is finished.
- Ongoing operations is the default. A contract that wants completed operations has to say so, and the policy needs CG 20 37 or an equivalent.
- Completed operations is a harder ask. A 2006 IRMI commentary called CG 20 37 notoriously difficult to obtain because many insurers did not want to provide it. Availability varies by market; I check with the underwriter before a client signs a contract promising it.
- The contract caps the grant. Since the 2013 editions, these endorsements give no broader coverage than the contract requires, limits no higher than the lesser of the contract figure and the policy limits, and only to the extent permitted by law. A contract that asks for less gets less.
Cancellation notice: what the certificate promises
Older certificates said the insurer would “endeavor” to notify the holder of cancellation, with no obligation if it didn’t. The ACORD 25 (2016/03) cancellation box says that if a listed policy is cancelled before its expiration date, notice will be delivered in accordance with the policy provisions.
Connecticut’s Insurance Department said in a 2010 bulletin that a certificate holder is owed no duty to be notified if the policy on the certificate is cancelled. Texas’s certificate statute says a person may have a right to notice of cancellation, nonrenewal or material change only if that person is named in the policy or an endorsement and the policy, endorsement or a state law requires it. New York’s insurance regulator said in a 2001 general counsel opinion that if the policy does not provide for notification, a certificate cannot impose it. If you want notice as a holder, ask for an endorsement naming you; that is an underwriting request.
How to ask for the right thing
If you require insurance from others, write the contract so it asks for coverage, not paperwork. “Name us as certificate holder” gets you a certificate. “Additional insured by endorsement, CG 20 10 or equivalent for ongoing operations and CG 20 37 or equivalent for completed operations” gets you a policy change you can verify; ask for a copy of the endorsement with the certificate. If you also want the named insured’s policy to pay first, that is a separate ask: primary and noncontributory wording.
If you are the contractor or trucking company being asked, send me the insurance clause before you sign. Not every clause is available from every market; a signed promise your policy can’t keep is your problem at claim time. Rules vary by state: Texas requires certificate forms to be filed with and approved by its insurance department, or to be standard forms deemed approved, and Connecticut treats a certificate that misrepresents policy terms as a violation of state law. These endorsements ride on general liability and contractor insurance policies.
Common questions
Is a certificate holder covered by the policy?
No. The ACORD 25 says it confers no rights upon the certificate holder and does not amend, extend or alter coverage. The holder gets evidence that the listed policies were issued for the policy period shown, nothing more.
Can the certificate alone make me an additional insured?
No. The form’s own warning says the policy must have additional insured provisions or be endorsed, and a statement on the certificate does not confer rights in lieu of the endorsement. Ask for a copy of the endorsement.
Does the certificate holder get notice if the policy is cancelled?
Only if the policy, an endorsement or a state law says so. The ACORD 25 (2016/03) says notice will be delivered in accordance with the policy provisions, and regulators in Connecticut, Texas and New York have each said a certificate cannot create a notice right the policy doesn’t contain.
What is the difference between CG 20 10 and CG 20 37?
CG 20 10 adds a scheduled party for the named insured’s ongoing operations at a listed location and excludes bodily injury or property damage after the work is completed. CG 20 37 covers that completed-operations period. A contract that wants both has to name both.
Can my agent just type “30 days’ notice” onto the certificate?
Not unless the policy provides it. New York’s insurance regulator has said a notice requirement in a certificate that isn’t in the policy alters, expands or modifies rights under the policy, and Texas bars certificates that alter, amend or extend coverage. The fix is a notice endorsement, which an underwriter has to approve.
Sources
- ACORD 25 (2016/03), Certificate of Liability Insurance: form wording (specimen hosted by the New York Department of Financial Services)
- Texas Insurance Code Chapter 1811 (S.B. 425, 82nd Legislature, enrolled text): certificates of insurance
- Texas Department of Insurance: certificates of insurance FAQ
- Connecticut Insurance Department Bulletin S-14 (Nov. 9, 2010): use of certificates of insurance
- New York State Insurance Department (now DFS), OGC Opinion 01-05-11 (May 11, 2001): notice of cancellation and certificates of insurance
- IRMI glossary: additional insured
- IRMI (Stanovich, Mar. 2006): Additional Insured Endorsements—A Potential Minefield, Part 3 (CG 20 10 and CG 20 37)
- IRMI (Bell, Aug. 2013): 2013 ISO Additional Insured Endorsements, in context for the construction industry
- ISO CG 20 10 04 13, Additional Insured – Owners, Lessees or Contractors – Scheduled Person or Organization (sample hosted by NYC Department of Cultural Affairs)
General information about certificates of insurance and additional insured endorsements as of October 2026, not legal advice; the policy, its endorsements and your state’s insurance code control. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.