Insurance glossary · Contracts and certificates
blanket endorsement.
A blanket endorsement extends a protection, like additional insured or a waiver of subrogation, to anyone you’ve agreed in a written contract to give it to, without naming each one.
What does blanket mean on an insurance policy?
Blanket means the endorsement applies to a group defined by a rule instead of a list of names. A blanket additional insured endorsement, for example, covers anyone you’ve agreed in a written contract to add, so every new customer who asks is covered without a policy change.
Which endorsements usually come in blanket form?
The ones contracts ask for over and over: additional insured, waiver of subrogation, primary and noncontributory, and sometimes notice of cancellation to certificate holders. Contractor policies often bundle several of them into one blanket package endorsement.
What’s the difference between a blanket and a scheduled endorsement?
A scheduled endorsement names each party, so every new contract that asks for it means a new endorsement. A blanket endorsement covers anyone who meets its conditions, usually a written contract signed before the loss. Some contracts insist on scheduled wording, and some insurers only offer one or the other.
What conditions does a blanket endorsement usually have?
Most require a written contract or agreement, signed before the injury or damage happens, that requires you to give the protection. Some also limit it to the work in that contract, or to ongoing operations only. If the contract is verbal or signed after the claim, a blanket endorsement may not apply.
Does a blanket endorsement cover my general contractor’s general contractor?
Only if the wording reaches them. Many blanket additional insured endorsements cover only parties you contracted with directly, so an owner or upstream contractor that isn’t a party to your subcontract may not qualify unless the endorsement extends to parties your contract requires you to add.
Does a blanket endorsement cost extra?
It depends on the insurer. Blanket additional insured and waiver endorsements are often built into contractor policies or added for a flat charge, while workers’ comp waivers are priced under each state’s rating rules. At Riza we show you what each endorsement costs before it goes on the policy.
Will a certificate show a blanket endorsement?
Yes. The certificate can say the holder is an additional insured or has a waiver “where required by written contract,” and many contractors attach the endorsement itself. What a certificate can’t do is promise more than the blanket wording actually gives.
Does a blanket endorsement work differently by state?
Mostly no. The wording comes from the insurer’s forms, not state law. Two things do change by state: each workers’ comp rating bureau sets how blanket waivers are written and charged, and some states, like Texas, limit what additional insured coverage can reach on construction contracts no matter how the endorsement is worded.
in the states where Riza is licensed.
Riza is a licensed insurance agency in New York, Colorado, Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey and Georgia. Notes below cite the law they come from. Detailed write-ups cover Arizona, Nevada, Texas, North Carolina and New York. One-line notes for other licensed states appear with them when this term has one.
- ArizonaArizona has no insurance rule specific to blanket endorsements. On private contracts involving a dwelling, an additional insured endorsement, blanket or scheduled, doesn’t obligate the insurer to pay for the additional insured’s own share of fault, though the duty to defend isn’t limited.A.R.S. § 32-1159.01contractors in Arizona →
- NevadaNevada has no rule specific to blanket endorsements and no general construction law limiting additional insured status. On residential construction contracts, a general contractor that’s an additional insured on a sub’s policy has to go to that coverage first.NRS 40.693contractors in Nevada →
- TexasOn most Texas construction contracts, additional insured coverage, blanket or scheduled, can’t reach the other party’s own negligence, with exceptions such as injuries to your own employees. For workers’ comp, Texas uses its own waiver endorsement, which offers a blanket option for anyone you’ve agreed in a written contract to waive against, and the Texas Supreme Court reads that endorsement as written.Tex. Ins. Code § 151.104 · TDI, Texas workers’ comp endorsement forms (WC 42 03 04) · Ins. Co. of the State of Pa. v. Roberts (Tex. 2019)contractors in Texas →
- North CarolinaNorth Carolina has no rule specific to blanket endorsements. Its anti-indemnity law voids indemnity for the other party’s own negligence but says it doesn’t affect insurance contracts.N.C.G.S. § 22B-1contractors in North Carolina →
- New YorkNew York’s workers’ comp waiver endorsement waives recovery against the parties in its schedule, and can be limited to work done under a written contract that requires it; the rating board sets separate charges for blanket and specific waivers. On liability, New York allows contracts to require additional insured coverage.NYCIRB manual, endorsements (WC 00 03 13) · Kinney v. G.W. Lisk Co. (N.Y. 1990)contractors in New York →
by trade.
- General contractorsWith dozens of owners and subs a year, blanket wording on your own policies and matching wording in your subs’ policies keeps every job covered without chasing endorsements.
- PlumbingShops with steady commercial work usually want blanket additional insured and waiver wording so a new GC’s request doesn’t hold up the first visit.
- HVACService agreements with property managers often ask for the same endorsements every time, which is where blanket wording saves the most back and forth.
- ElectricalTenant improvement work often names several parties at once, so it’s worth checking that blanket wording reaches owners and landlords, not just the GC.
- RoofingContracts that ask for completed operations coverage need blanket wording that reaches completed work too, not only ongoing operations.
where you’ll see it.
- Policy forms listAn endorsement titled “Additional Insured, Owners, Lessees or Contractors, Automatic Status When Required in Construction Agreement” or a contractor package endorsement.
- Certificates“Blanket additional insured and waiver of subrogation apply where required by written contract” in the description box.
- SubcontractsContracts that ask for “blanket or specific” endorsements, or that require a copy of the endorsement with the certificate.
blanket where it fits, named where it doesn’t.
Riza reads your contracts against the blanket wording on each of your policies. Where the blanket wording reaches the party the contract names, the certificate says so; where it doesn’t, we add a scheduled endorsement with your insurer before work starts.
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Coverage it touches: General liability