Blanket Additional Insured
An endorsement that automatically grants additional insured status to any party the named insured is contractually required to add.
What It Is
A Blanket Additional Insured endorsement is a policy modification that automatically extends additional insured status to any third party the named insured is required to add by written contract or agreement. Rather than listing each additional insured by name, the blanket form uses triggering language — typically "any person or organization that you are required by written contract to add as an additional insured."
This approach eliminates the need to issue a separate endorsement every time a new contract is signed. The coverage is triggered by the existence of a qualifying written contract, not by a specific schedule on the policy.
Common blanket additional insured forms include carrier-proprietary endorsements as well as ISO forms like CG 20 33. The scope of coverage varies significantly between carriers and editions, making verification essential.
Why It Matters for Brokers
Blanket additional insured endorsements are a major efficiency tool for brokers managing clients with dozens or hundreds of contracts, such as large subcontractors or property management firms. However, brokers cannot simply assume that a blanket endorsement satisfies every contract. Some contracts require specific scheduled endorsements, and some blanket forms contain limitations — such as excluding completed operations or capping coverage at a sublimit — that may not meet contractual requirements.
Real-World Example
A janitorial services company, CleanPro Inc., holds contracts with 47 different commercial property managers. Each contract requires CleanPro to name the property manager as an additional insured. Rather than issuing 47 individual endorsements, CleanPro's broker secures a blanket additional insured endorsement (CG 20 33 04 13) on their $1M/$2M CGL policy. When CleanPro signs a new contract with a 48th property manager, the blanket endorsement automatically applies — no mid-term endorsement request needed.
Common Mistakes
- 1Failing to confirm the blanket endorsement includes completed operations coverage when the underlying contract requires it.
- 2Not checking whether the blanket form requires a 'written contract executed prior to loss' — some forms exclude contracts signed after the policy inception.
- 3Assuming all carrier-proprietary blanket forms are equivalent to the ISO CG 20 33 when many contain narrower triggering language.
How brokerageaudit.com Handles This
Policy Checker reads blanket additional insured endorsements and extracts the triggering language, coverage scope, and any sublimits or restrictions. It then compares these parameters against your stored contract requirements. COI Manager lets your team issue certificates referencing blanket AI status while flagging any contract whose requirements exceed what the blanket endorsement actually provides.