Each Occurrence
The policy limit field on the ACORD 25 certificate showing the maximum amount payable for all damages from a single occurrence.
What It Is
Each Occurrence is the limit field on the CGL declarations page and the ACORD 25 certificate of insurance that states the maximum amount the insurer will pay for all bodily injury and property damage arising from a single occurrence. It is synonymous with the per occurrence limit.
On the ACORD 25 certificate, the Each Occurrence limit is displayed in the Commercial General Liability section. This is typically the first limit that certificate holders check when reviewing a certificate for compliance with contractual requirements.
The Each Occurrence limit applies independently to each separate occurrence. If two unrelated incidents happen during the policy period, each has the full Each Occurrence limit available, subject to the remaining general aggregate. This is distinct from the aggregate limits, which cap the total payments across all occurrences during the policy period.
Why It Matters for Brokers
Certificate holders rely on the Each Occurrence limit to verify that the insured meets minimum contractual coverage requirements. An error in this field — whether overstated, understated, or simply wrong — can create compliance failures or, worse, misrepresentation. Brokers must ensure that the Each Occurrence limit on every issued certificate exactly matches the policy. Any mid-term limit change must trigger a certificate update to all affected certificate holders.
Real-World Example
A commercial tenant's lease requires a $1,000,000 Each Occurrence limit. The tenant's broker issues an ACORD 25 certificate showing $1,000,000 in the Each Occurrence field. However, the actual policy was written with a $500,000 per occurrence limit due to a carrier underwriting restriction. When the landlord's risk manager discovers the discrepancy during an audit, the tenant is in breach of the lease and the broker faces an E&O claim for issuing an inaccurate certificate. The overstated limit on the certificate does not create additional coverage — it simply creates broker liability.
Common Mistakes
- 1Manually entering the Each Occurrence limit on certificates rather than pulling it directly from the verified policy data, increasing the risk of typographical errors.
- 2Not updating certificates when a mid-term endorsement changes the per occurrence limit.
- 3Confusing Each Occurrence with the General Aggregate on the certificate, entering the wrong number in the wrong field.
How brokerageaudit.com Handles This
COI Manager auto-populates the Each Occurrence field on ACORD 25 certificates directly from the verified policy limits extracted by Policy Checker. It prevents manual overrides of limit fields without manager approval and flags any certificate where the Each Occurrence amount does not match the policy. When a policy limit changes mid-term, COI Manager automatically identifies all affected certificates and queues them for reissuance.