What it does
CG 20 26 is the general-purpose scheduled additional insured form. It adds the named persons or organizations for "bodily injury", "property damage" or "personal and advertising injury" caused, in whole or in part, by the named insured's acts or omissions or those acting on its behalf: (1) in the performance of the named insured's ongoing operations, or (2) in connection with premises owned by or rented to the named insured.
Who needs it
Service businesses, vendors at events, tenants, and other non-construction accounts that receive a request to add a client or other party as additional insured. Carriers also use it for parties that don't fit the owners/contractors, vendors, lessor or mortgagee forms.
Key provisions and limits
- Schedule shows only the name of the additional insured; there is no location limitation.
- No coverage for completed operations: the grant is tied to ongoing operations and premises.
- Contract caps the coverage: the additional insured gets no broader coverage than the contract requires, and if a contract requires the coverage the most paid for the additional insured is the lesser of the contract-required amount or the policy limits. The endorsement never increases the policy limits.
Quoting and selling notes
- Construction contracts usually ask for CG 20 10/CG 20 37; CG 20 26 is often accepted for non-construction contracts but check the wording of the request.
- For accounts with frequent requests, the blanket CG 20 43 (or CG 20 42 for designated operations) avoids endorsing each name.
- Landlords are better served by CG 20 11, lenders by CG 20 18, equipment lessors by CG 20 28.
Contract and certificate checklist
- Get the contract insurance clause, not just the certificate request. It tells you whether the other party needs ongoing operations, completed operations or both, for how long, and whether coverage must be primary and noncontributory or carry a waiver of subrogation.
- Check that the AI form's causation wording ("caused, in whole or in part, by" the named insured) meets the contract; requests for coverage of the other party's sole negligence cannot be met with ISO forms and may be unenforceable under state anti-indemnity laws.
- Because the AI coverage is capped at what the contract requires, a contract that asks for $1 million per occurrence gives the additional insured only $1 million even if the policy carries higher limits.
- List the endorsement number and edition on the certificate description only if the endorsement is actually on the policy; a certificate does not create coverage.
- Additional insureds share the named insured's limits; on large or many projects consider per project aggregates (CG 25 03) and umbrella follow-form wording for AIs.
When it fits
- Service contracts, event permits and vendor agreements that ask simply to be "named as additional insured" are often satisfied with CG 20 26; construction contracts usually specify CG 20 10/CG 20 37 or equivalents.
- CG 20 26 covers ongoing operations and premises only; if the request mentions products or completed operations, use the matching form.
