Blanket Additional Insured

Overview

A Blanket Additional Insured endorsement is a provision on a Commercial General Liability policy that automatically extends Additional Insured coverage to any party the named insured is required to add by written contract. Instead of listing each Additional Insured by name on the policy (scheduled approach), the blanket endorsement covers all qualifying parties based on the existence of a contractual obligation.

How It Works

When a business purchases a blanket Additional Insured endorsement, the insurance carrier agrees that any third party the insured is contractually obligated to add will receive Additional Insured status — without the insured needing to contact the carrier each time. The trigger is the written contract: if the contract says "Vendor shall name Owner as Additional Insured," the blanket endorsement fulfills that requirement automatically.

This streamlines compliance for businesses that work with many clients, each of whom requires Additional Insured status. A general contractor working on 20 different projects for 20 different property owners does not need 20 separate endorsements — the blanket endorsement covers all of them.

Blanket vs. Scheduled

Verification on a COI

When reviewing a Certificate of Insurance with a blanket Additional Insured endorsement, the Description of Operations typically includes language such as:

• "Blanket Additional Insured per policy endorsement as required by written contract"
• "Additional Insured — where required by written contract, agreement, or permit"
• "Certificate Holder is included as Additional Insured per blanket endorsement"

For a blanket endorsement to apply, two conditions must be met: (1) the blanket endorsement must exist on the policy, and (2) a written contract between the insured and the Additional Insured must require the designation.

Limitations

Blanket endorsements are not unlimited. Common restrictions include:

• Coverage applies only to the extent required by the written contract
• Coverage is limited to liability arising from the named insured's acts or omissions
• The endorsement may cap the limits available to Additional Insureds
• Some blanket endorsements exclude completed operations coverage

Example

A property owner hires multiple vendors — a cleaning company, a landscaping firm, and an HVAC contractor. Each contract requires the vendor to name the property owner as Additional Insured. All three vendors carry blanket Additional Insured endorsements on their CGL policies. The property owner receives three certificates, each referencing the blanket endorsement. No vendor needed to request a specific endorsement naming the property owner — the blanket coverage applies automatically because the contracts require it.