Endorsement

How it works

A policy is built from parts: a declarations pageDeclarations pageThe declarations page is the summary at the front of an insurance policy listing who’s insured, what’s covered, the limits, deductibles, premium and policy dates.Read the definition that lists what you bought, coverage forms that explain how it works, and endorsements that change those forms. Each endorsement is its own page or set of pages, and the declarations page usually lists every one attached to your policy.

An endorsement can widen coverage, narrow it or change who it protects. When an endorsement and the base form say different things, the endorsement generally controls for the part it changes. Endorsements can be added when you buy or partway through the policy period, and some change your premium.

Common business endorsements include:

• adding an additional insuredAdditional insuredAn additional insured is a person or company, such as a landlord or client, added to your liability policy so it can protect them from claims tied to your work.Read the definition, like a landlord or general contractor
• a waiver of subrogationWaiver of subrogationA waiver of subrogation is an agreement, usually added to your policy by endorsement, that stops your insurer from recovering claim payments from a specific client, landlord or contractor.Read the definition for a client
• primary and noncontributoryPrimary and noncontributoryPrimary and noncontributory is policy wording that makes your insurance pay first for a covered claim, without asking the additional insured’s own insurance to share the cost.Read the definition wording a contract requires
• adding a location, raising a limit inside the policy or adding an exclusionExclusionAn exclusion is a provision in an insurance policy that removes coverage for specific causes, types of loss, property or activities the policy would otherwise cover.Read the definition

Endorsements and certificates

Contracts often ask for proof of an endorsement, and that proof usually comes as a certificate of insuranceCertificate of insuranceA certificate of insurance (COI) is a one-page summary that proves your business has insurance, listing your policies, limits, insurers and policy dates.Read the definition. But the certificate only reports what’s on the policy. ACORD, which publishes the standard certificate forms, says only an endorsement, rider or amendment to the policy can change coverage. A certificate can’t.