Naming/being Named Additional Insured

newenergy

I'm a sub on a job and the company hiring me wants me to name them as an additional insured on my general liability policy.

Should I have them name me as an additional insured on their policy?

They may have one of their staff working with me part of the time.

genecarp

yes, it sounds like you should, additionally what if he gets hurt, whos comp gets hit, both probably.

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newenergy

Yeah, that's another issue. I'm supposed to be supervising this guy, but I don't have worker's comp yet. At this point my company is just myself and a partner. And while I'm not writing the check to this guy, they are essentially charging me for his time when he's working on the job. Their goal is pretty clearly to get training for the guy on their staff, which is pretty lame, but on the other hand that guy is hardly ever around.

Schmidt & Co

Just don't forget to charge for it. My insurance company charges around $100.00 every time a customer wants to be named additional insured.....

orson

My company charges me nothing to list an "additionaly insured". Other companies charge, go figure. It's pretty much a BS fee, it doesn't cost them any more to do it.

I can tell you that if I asked you to list me as additionaly insured and you billed me for it without asking me about it there would be issues.

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mdshunk

Now hang on a minute. That statement doesn't sit well with me. If you ask me to do something for you, regardless of what it is and regardless of whether you're used to getting it for free, why do you think you shouldn't have to pay me for it? You want me to ask you permission to bill you for something you asked me to do? Get real, man.

orson

Because you aren't doing anything anything that implies added cost unless your insurance company bills you for this. If they do and you are passing that cost on then I expect to be informed of that before you bill me for it so I can make an informed decision on whether or not I care to pay extra to be listed. Just like you I'm trying to anticipate and control my costs, that's pretty real.

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mdshunk

I can just barely believe that I'm reading this, particularly from you. Even if the only costs involved were for a secretary to take 15 minutes of phonecalls or faxing, you're getting a bill. Simple as that. Just because you normally get something for free, if my insurance company charges me, and you're the one who ordered it in the first place, you're getting charged. Why the heck should anyone ever do anything for free, for you? It shouldn't be up to me to determine if charges are involved, ask you if it's okay to charge you, then grant your wish. If you order it, expect to be billed. Simple as that. Water in a restaurant is normally free, just like extra gravy or a slice of cheese is often free. From time to time, I see these things on the bill, and I don't bark. I'm the one who ordered it.

orson

I guess this is my point, since you are sending me your GL cert anyway, what is the difference between sending it w/ or w/o the additionaly insured? It shouldn't be an extra 15min for your secretary, and even if it were would you not consider that to be part of overhead? Isn't your secretary routinely calling your GL insurance provider and asking them to send certs to companies that are subcontracting you? Do you bill for every cert you send out?

When I subcontract to companies I routinely send them GL certs. When I call my insucrance agency rep I request to have the GC listed as additionaly insured. It takes and extra 2.4 seconds rather than 15 min.

I personaly just consider this to be a very positive customer service experience I can provide to GC's and never considered it a service to be charged for.

I can also easily imagine just how irate the phone call would be from one or two of the GC's I've worked for if I had billed them for this.

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Carport King

Man those PA contractors are wrapped a little tight. Settle down men or I'll get the pitch fork after you two!

eastend

I see no logic in being charged for listing an additional insured on a certificate. I do not think that any additional insurance is being purchased, rather it's just identifying one of the parties. It means that who ever fills out the cert needs to add a few more words, which can't take more than a couple of seconds.

MGSProperties

What if once a week you needed an additional insured named on your policy? What if it was once a day? Why shouldn’t your insurance company/agent charge a fee for the service? It takes time & time is money.

In the little experience I have I have found out that when the insurance policy was cost effective from start to add additional insured meant extra fee's, if you got raped the first time around they will do it for free.
Just my 2 cents.

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Chris Johnson

Standard practice around here for GC's is to ask for a copy of your insurances (GL and WC) and be named as an additionally insured. I have never been billed for this service as an extra, mind you part of my policy says they will add and forward a copy of same to those who require it. HO who are acting as owner/builder have no clue and never ask for it.

Why would you agree to having their employee work with you? How does this work not just with WC but also with warranty? I sure as hell wouldn't want someone elses employee working on my portion of a contract and be expected to warranty the work.

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Chris

MGSProperties

The reason they are asking you to to name them is in order to be covered in case something happens. that is the only way to cover thier own ass.

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orson

Once again, sending out GL certs is just a cost of doing business in the insurance industry. Is it ok with you if you insurance agency starts billing you every time you have a cert sent out to a new GC? Do you think that the insurance industry is not wildly profitable enough without charging to fax a cert or name an additionaly insured? Let me assure you, as someone who dated a WC adjuster for a few years, that insurance companies are not scrounging for overhead dollars to figure out how to get your certs faxed out. Her bonuses were payed out in checks from Grand Cayman banks and usually exceeded her yearly salary.

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DavidC

It has been my experience that certificates of insurance are no charge from my carrier, and so no charge to GC or customer requiring proof of insrurance.

However, to add an additional insured is more insurance and increased risk to the carrier. They charge me for this service (10% of my base premium for each additional insured in my case) so this will be factored in as a recoverable expense. It doesn't matter if I bill you direct or just factor it in to the job. If you require it you will pay for it. My a$$ is covered without it.

On the other hand, when you tell me you need to be an additional insured my next sentence is about the extra cost and who gets to cover it. There should be no suprises at billing time.

Good Luck
Dave

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Schmidt & Co

On the insurance section of my contract with HO I list all our insurance info, the carrier, phone # of our agent etc. I also have a section that states that we charge $100.00 if they need to be named additional insured on the policy. Of course there is no charge for a certificate of insurance. During my anual payroll audit I get charged for all the years previous additional insured jobs, averageing out to $100.00 per.

As I see it, I dont pay for anything. All job costs & my profit is figured into the bid that the HO pays. If they want what essently amounts to a change order, then they pay for it.

hbiss

I guess this is my point, since you are sending me your GL cert anyway, what is the difference between sending it w/ or w/o the additionaly insured? It shouldn't be an extra 15min for your secretary, and even if it were would you not consider that to be part of overhead?

I think you are confused with what some people are saying. I don't see where anybody would charge you if their insurance company didn't charge them. And believe me I totally believe you about the Grand Cayman Islands accounts. I have no love for insurance companies.

orson

My main point was that I don't expect to be charged for additionaly insured if it doesn't cost the sub anything, and that if they are being whacked (with what I consider to be a bull**** charge) and need to bill me for it I want to know upfront so I can opt to retract the request for additionaly insured.

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MGSProperties

I think you are missing the point of what it means to be named an additional insured on a policy.

When they name an additional insured they are stating that as soon as your policy becomes null they will notify the additional insured immediately. So if you decide not to pay your premium, your insurance company will notify all the additional insured that the policy is about to expire. This costs money to track and to notify and will usually end up as a charge from the insurance company to the insured. The only time I have seen this not be a charge is when the policy premium is high enough for the insurance company so it does not warrant an extra charge.

So if you are telling me that your insurance company does not charge you I would get a couple of new quotes and see where you stand.

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