Contract clause library

Model insurance requirement exhibits and contract clause templates

Name: 2026 Subcontractor COI Compliance & Risk Transfer Benchmark
Creator: Pikorua Security
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Six working exhibits for subcontracts, leases, building services, staffing and freight, each with additional insured endorsement wording, primary and non-contributory language, waivers and notice terms. Set your limits, copy the clause, and see exactly which endorsements prove it.

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Keystone Mechanical LLC

Subcontract SC-0412 · Exhibit C · GL 7741-0093-22

1 deficiency

C.2 Per project aggregate
CG 25 03 04 13
Verified
C.3 Ongoing operations AI
CG 20 10 04 13
Verified
C.3 Completed operations, 3 yrs
Not attached
Deficient
C.4 Primary and non-contributory
CG 20 01 04 13
Verified
C.8 Workers comp waiver (NY)
WC 00 03 13
Verified
C.9 Notice of cancellation
Vendor duty only
Requested

Deficiency notice sent to the vendor and Calder Risk Partners, 10/14/2026 9:42 AM. Invoice #07 held in Procore.

of subcontractor and vendor COIs contain material coverage deficiencies or missing endorsements on first review: 71%; of subcontractor and vendor COIs contain material coverage deficiencies or missing endorsements on first review; AGC Risk Committee Audit
of COIs claiming additional insured status fail to attach the CG 20 37 completed operations endorsement: 64%; of COIs claiming additional insured status fail to attach the CG 20 37 completed operations endorsement; IRMI Construction Risk Survey
of deficient vendor files lack primary and non-contributory wording: 37%; of deficient vendor files lack primary and non-contributory wording; Pikorua Security 2026 benchmark
average out-of-pocket litigation and SIR loss when a subcontractor's carrier denies an additional insured tender: $150,000 to $450,000; average out-of-pocket litigation and SIR loss when a subcontractor's carrier denies an additional insured tender; Commercial Casualty Actuarial Study

Template library

6 model exhibits, tuned to your limits

Pick the relationship, set each occurrence, aggregate, umbrella and completed operations terms, and copy a clause your vendors' brokers can actually satisfy. Every paragraph maps to a verification rule and the endorsement that proves it.

Commercial GC subcontract insurance exhibit

The standard exhibit for trade subcontractors with field labor. Attach it to every subcontract and to purchase orders that include installation. Raise limits by trade and project value; add the high-hazard addendum for roofing, steel, excavation, demolition and crane work.

Limits in this exhibit

Each occurrence

General aggregate

Umbrella / excess

Completed ops period

Aggregate options below twice the each occurrence limit are disabled. Highlighted values in the exhibit update as you change them.

Template 1 of 6 · 10 paragraphs

Exhibit C: Subcontractor Insurance Requirements

C.1 General. Before performing any Work, and until final payment and the end of the completed operations period stated below, Subcontractor shall maintain at its own expense the insurance required by this Exhibit, with insurers authorized or eligible to do business in the Project state and rated A- VII or better by AM Best. Coverage shall be written on an occurrence basis. Deductibles or self-insured retentions above $25,000 require Contractor's written approval and are Subcontractor's sole responsibility. The limits below are minimums and do not limit Subcontractor's liability or indemnity obligations.

C.2 Commercial General Liability. ISO form CG 00 01 or a form at least as broad, with limits of not less than $1,000,000 each occurrence, $2,000,000 general aggregate, $2,000,000 products-completed operations aggregate and $1,000,000 personal and advertising injury. The general aggregate shall apply per project by ISO CG 25 03 or equivalent. Coverage shall insure this Subcontract as an "insured contract" and shall not include ISO CG 21 39, CG 24 26, CG 22 94, CG 21 44 (unless it schedules the Project), or any exclusion for bodily injury to employees of Subcontractor or its sub-subcontractors brought against an Additional Insured (action over).

C.3 Additional Insureds. Contractor, Owner, Owner's lender, the Architect and every other party Contractor is required to include under the Prime Contract (the "Additional Insureds," listed in Schedule 1) shall be included as additional insureds under the general liability, umbrella and excess policies. Ongoing operations coverage shall be provided by ISO CG 20 10 (04 13 or later) or CG 20 38, and completed operations coverage by ISO CG 20 37 (04 13 or later) or CG 20 40, or by forms providing coverage at least as broad. Completed operations additional insured coverage shall be maintained for three (3) years after final completion of the Project. Additional insured coverage shall apply to claims caused in whole or in part by Subcontractor's acts or omissions and shall not be limited to vicarious liability.

C.4 Primary and Non-Contributory. All coverage afforded to the Additional Insureds shall be primary to, and shall not seek contribution from, any insurance or self-insurance available to them, by ISO CG 20 01 or equivalent wording. Subcontractor's umbrella and excess policies shall apply before any umbrella, excess or self-insured program available to the Additional Insureds.

C.5 Business Automobile Liability. Coverage for any auto (symbol 1), or for owned, hired and non-owned autos if Subcontractor owns no autos, with a combined single limit of not less than $1,000,000 each accident. The Additional Insureds shall be insureds by ISO CA 20 48 or equivalent.

C.6 Workers Compensation and Employers Liability. Statutory workers compensation for every state in which Work is performed, and employers liability of not less than $1,000,000 each accident, $1,000,000 disease each employee and $1,000,000 disease policy limit.

C.7 Umbrella or Excess Liability. Not less than $5,000,000 each occurrence and aggregate, following form over the general liability, automobile and employers liability coverage, with the Additional Insureds included and the primary and non-contributory terms of C.4 applying.

C.8 Waiver of Subrogation. Subcontractor waives, and shall cause its insurers to waive, all rights of recovery against the Additional Insureds, by ISO CG 24 04 (general liability), ISO CA 04 44 (automobile), NCCI WC 00 03 13 (workers compensation) and equivalent wording on the umbrella and excess policies.

C.9 Evidence, Notice and Enforcement. Before mobilization and at each renewal, Subcontractor shall deliver an ACORD 25 certificate together with copies of every endorsement required by this Exhibit and the policy forms schedule. A certificate alone does not satisfy this Exhibit. Subcontractor shall give Contractor written notice within two (2) business days of any cancellation, nonrenewal or reduction in coverage, and each policy shall provide thirty (30) days' notice of cancellation to Contractor (ten (10) days for nonpayment) where the insurer offers such an endorsement. Contractor may withhold payment and site access while Subcontractor is not in compliance.

C.10 Lower Tiers. Subcontractor shall require each of its sub-subcontractors to carry the insurance in this Exhibit, naming the same Additional Insureds, and shall collect and verify their certificates and endorsements before they begin work.

What Pikorua Security checks for this exhibit

C.1 General
Carrier rated A- VII or better; occurrence form confirmed; deductible or SIR within the approved threshold
C.2 Commercial General Liability
Limits meet the exhibit; per project aggregate attached; insured contract unmodified; prohibited exclusions absent from the forms schedule
CG 25 03 CG 00 01 CG 21 39 CG 24 26 CG 22 94 CG 21 44
C.3 Additional Insureds
Ongoing and completed operations forms at 04 13 or later; every Schedule 1 party reached; completed operations duration tracked after closeout
CG 20 10 CG 20 38 CG 20 37
C.4 Primary and Non-Contributory
CG 20 01 or equivalent wording on the general liability and umbrella policies
CG 20 01
C.5 Business Automobile
Symbol 1 (or 8 and 9 with no owned autos) confirmed; Additional Insureds scheduled on CA 20 48
CA 20 48
C.8 Waiver of Subrogation
General liability, auto, workers compensation and umbrella waivers each present and reaching the Additional Insureds
CG 24 04 WC 00 03 13
C.9 Evidence and Notice
Endorsement pages and forms schedule on file; notice endorsement recorded; 60/30/15/0 day renewal cadence active
IL 00 17

Wording to proof

Which endorsement satisfies each clause

A certificate checkbox proves nothing. Each requirement in an exhibit is satisfied by a specific ISO form, or by carrier wording at least as broad, and weakened by a short list of others. This is the map Pikorua Security's validator runs on every endorsement page.

Codes link to the full guide for each form, with edition history, defect traps and exhibit wording. Forms without a guide yet, such as CG 20 39, CG 20 40, CA 04 44 and CG 22 80, are still read and scored by the validator.

Contract clause wording mapped to the ISO endorsements that satisfy it and the forms that weaken it
Clause requires	Satisfied by	Weakened by	What Pikorua Security flags
Additional insureds for ongoing operations	CG 20 10 CG 20 38 CG 20 33 CG 20 26	CG 21 44	Blanket form that reaches only the direct contracting party; schedule entity mismatch
Completed operations for a stated number of years	CG 20 37CG 20 39CG 20 40	CG 20 10 11 85	No completed operations form attached; duration not tracked after closeout
Primary and non-contributory	CG 20 01	Unendorsed Other Insurance	"Primary" without "non-contributory"; umbrella not primary to the additional insured's own excess
Waiver of subrogation on all lines	CG 24 04 WC 00 03 13CA 04 44	Missing endorsement	Waiver on general liability only; workers compensation waiver missing for the project state
Additional insureds on the auto policy	CA 20 48	Missing endorsement	Auto additional insured box checked on the ACORD 25 with no endorsement attached
General aggregate applies per project	CG 25 03	Missing endorsement	Per location CG 25 04 on construction work; policy-wide aggregate shared across jobs
Contract insured as an "insured contract"	CG 00 01	CG 21 39 CG 24 26	Contractual liability limitation on the forms schedule, often only on a midterm change
Railroad indemnity within 50 feet of track	CG 24 17	CG 21 39	Schedule names the wrong railroad entity or a generic job site
Architect and consultants as additional insureds	CG 20 32	Missing endorsement	Consultants missing from the schedule; requirement not flowed down to subcontracts
No professional exclusion beyond means and methods	CG 22 80	CG 22 79	Delegated design scope with no verified professional liability policy
Damage to work by subcontractors not excluded	CG 00 01	CG 22 94	Subcontractor work exception removed from the your-work exclusion
Notice of cancellation to the certificate holder	Carrier notice endorsement	IL 00 17 default	Certificate wording relied on; vendor is not the first Named Insured

Drafting pitfalls

Seven ways a well-meant clause fails at tender

These are the drafting gaps behind most denied additional insured tenders and contribution fights. Each one is cheap to fix in the exhibit and expensive to discover after a loss.

"Name Owner as additional insured" is not a requirement

A one-line request gets whatever form the vendor's carrier issues first, usually CG 20 10 or CG 20 26 for ongoing operations only. State ongoing and completed operations separately, name the forms or "at least as broad," and give the completed operations period in years.

Why CG 20 37 matters

Requiring CG 20 10 11 85 by edition

Few carriers will issue it today. Contracts that insist on it get rejected or quietly ignored. Ask for 04 13 or later editions and spell out the coverage you want.

The 11 85 edition

"Primary" without "non-contributory"

Primary alone does not stop the vendor's carrier from asking your policy to share. CG 20 01 responds only when the contract requires both terms in writing.

CG 20 01 guide

Notice of cancellation through the certificate

The ACORD 25 promises notice only in accordance with policy provisions, and IL 00 17 sends it to the first Named Insured. Put a direct notice duty on the vendor.

IL 00 17 guide

Limits that cap your own coverage

Additional insured forms from 04 13 on pay the lesser of the contract requirement or available limits. A subcontract asking for $1,000,000 caps the owner at $1,000,000 even if the sub carries more.

CG 20 38 limits cap

Stopping at the primary policy and the first tier

Additional insured status and primary wording must flow through the umbrella, and sub-subcontractors must carry the same terms. Exhibits that stop at the primary CGL and the first tier leave the largest losses outside the program you negotiated.

Indemnity broader than state law allows

Anti-indemnity statutes can void broad-form indemnity. Write "to the fullest extent permitted by law," then protect the indemnity with an insured contract requirement that prohibits CG 21 39 and CG 24 26.

CG 24 26 guide

From clause to enforcement

Copying the clause is step one

An exhibit protects you only when someone checks the endorsement pages against it, every renewal, for every vendor. Pikorua Security customers cut broker resolution time from 28 days to 4.2 days.

1
Pick and tune a template
Choose the exhibit that matches the relationship, set the limits and the completed operations period, and copy it into your subcontract, lease or services agreement.
2
Load the exhibit into Pikorua Security
Upload the executed exhibit. The rule builder reads limits, additional insured forms and editions, primary and non-contributory wording, waivers and notice terms, and proposes a rule set your risk manager confirms once.
3
Collect the paper, not just the certificate
Vendors and their brokers receive the requirement list and a zero-login upload link for the ACORD 25, every endorsement page and the policy forms schedule.
4
Verify, chase and enforce
Each endorsement page is checked against the rules in about 15 seconds. Deficiencies go to the vendor and broker on the 60/30/15/0 day cadence, and payment holds in Procore, Yardi or AppFolio stay on until the file is compliant.

Endorsement guides

The forms behind the wording

Each guide covers legal scope, tender behavior, edition history, defect traps and copyable exhibit wording.

CG 20 3804 13 / 12 19

Blanket AIReaching the owner through the subcontract

CG 20 26Designated person

Scheduled AIThe vendor form with no completed ops

CG 24 26Insured contract

Red flagWhen indemnity is only partly insured

Browse all 20 forms in the ISO endorsement library.

FAQ

Insurance clause questions from risk and contracts teams

Additional insured endorsement wording, primary and non-contributory clauses, editions and completed operations periods.

What is standard additional insured endorsement wording for a subcontract?

Most commercial exhibits require additional insured status for ongoing operations by ISO CG 20 10 (04 13 or later) or CG 20 38, and for completed operations by ISO CG 20 37 or CG 20 40, or forms at least as broad. Good wording names every protected party (often in a schedule), applies to injury caused in whole or in part by the subcontractor, states the completed operations period in years, and requires the umbrella to include the same parties.

What does a primary and non-contributory clause do?

It makes the vendor's policy pay before the additional insured's own insurance and bars the vendor's insurer from seeking contribution from it. ISO CG 20 01 delivers that result when the contract requires it in writing and the additional insured is a named insured on the other policy. Without it, the CGL Other Insurance condition can make two primary policies share the loss.

Should a contract require specific endorsement edition dates?

Require a minimum edition (04 13 or later) or forms providing coverage at least as broad, rather than one exact edition. Demanding CG 20 10 11 85 usually fails because few carriers issue it, while an open "or equivalent" with no baseline lets narrow carrier wording through. Pikorua Security reads the edition from each page footer and compares carrier wording with the ISO baseline your exhibit names.

Do these templates replace review by our counsel?

Use them as working drafts. Defined terms, governing law, anti-indemnity limits and the exact parties should be conformed to your agreements by your counsel. Pikorua Security is software: it does not give legal advice and does not sell, bind or broker insurance. It verifies that the insurance your contract requires is actually on the policy.

How long should completed operations coverage be required?

Three years after final completion is a common floor. High-hazard trades and owners in states with long statutes of repose often require the full repose period. The requirement only works if the subcontractor keeps buying coverage with completed operations additional insured status after the job ends, so Pikorua Security keeps closed-out vendors on the renewal cadence for the full period.

How does Pikorua Security turn an exhibit into verification rules?

Upload your exhibit or start from one of these templates. The rule builder extracts limits, required forms and editions, primary and non-contributory and waiver requirements, notice terms and prohibited exclusions, and a risk manager confirms the rule set once. Every certificate and endorsement page after that is checked against it automatically.

14-day free production trial

Write the exhibit once. Verify it on every vendor.

Load your insurance requirement exhibit and Pikorua Security checks every certificate, endorsement page and forms schedule against it, then chases the broker until it is fixed.

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