CG 20 10 makes the general contractor an additional insured for your ongoing operations — the work while it's in progress. CG 20 37 makes them an additional insured for your completed operations — claims that arrive after the job is finished and turned over. They are two different endorsements covering two different windows of time, and most subcontract insurance clauses require both. Carrying only CG 20 10 means the GC's additional insured protection switches off the day you finish the job — which is precisely when construction defect claims tend to show up.
A general liability policy already draws a hard line between two categories of claim, and every additional insured question inherits that line. Damage that happens while your crew is actively working sits in the base coverage. Damage that happens after your work is finished and released for use sits in what the policy calls the products-completed operations hazard — a separate bucket with its own aggregate limit.
Because the policy treats those two buckets separately, the additional insured endorsements do too. CG 20 10 grants status for liability "arising out of your ongoing operations performed for that additional insured." CG 20 37 grants status for "your work" that falls in the products-completed operations hazard. Neither one reaches into the other's territory.
The practical consequence catches contractors off guard. You finish a job in March. In September, water finds its way through a detail your crew installed and damages the interior. That's a completed operations claim. If the only additional insured endorsement on your policy is CG 20 10, the general contractor you promised to protect is not an additional insured for that claim at all — even though the certificate you handed over back in January showed an additional insured box neatly checked.
| CG 20 10 — Ongoing Operations | CG 20 37 — Completed Operations | |
|---|---|---|
| What it grants | AI status for liability arising out of your ongoing operations for that party | AI status for your work included in the products-completed operations hazard |
| Time window | While work is in progress | After work is completed and turned over |
| Typical claim it answers | A crew member drops something; a trench collapse during construction | Defect discovered after occupancy; water intrusion the following season |
| Which aggregate applies | General aggregate | Products-completed operations aggregate |
| Do contracts require it | Almost always | Almost always — and it's the one that's frequently missing |
Form numbers are not the whole story. ISO revises these endorsements, and each edition date changes what the form actually delivers. The widely used 04 13 editions folded in two limitations that older editions did not have:
That second one cuts both ways. It prevents you from accidentally handing over more coverage than you agreed to, which is good. But it also means a sloppy or silent contract clause can leave the other party with less protection than they believed they bought — and disputes about what the contract "required" become coverage disputes.
The takeaway is simple: read the edition date printed on the endorsement itself. A contract that demands "CG 20 10" without naming an edition can be satisfied by a narrower modern form. A contract that demands a specific older edition may be asking for something your carrier no longer issues — better to discover that before you sign than during a certificate review that stalls your first draw.
Most active subcontractors carry a blanket (automatic) additional insured endorsement instead of scheduling each party by name. It extends status to anyone you're required by written contract to add, so you can satisfy a new GC's requirement the same day rather than waiting on the carrier.
The convenience is genuine. The uniformity is not. Blanket forms are carrier-drafted and their scope varies enormously:
There is no shortcut here. Pull the actual endorsement off your policy and read what it says. If the words "products-completed operations hazard" don't appear, assume you have ongoing operations only.
Two clocks run at once, and contractors usually only think about the first.
Clock one is the endorsement's own duration language — some completed operations forms grant status for a defined number of years after completion, or for however long the contract requires.
Clock two is the one that decides claims. General liability is occurrence-based: the policy that responds is the one in force when the damage occurs, not the one in force when you did the work. A defect claim surfacing three years after completion looks to your current policy. Which means:
If the occurrence-versus-claims-made distinction is fuzzy, our explainer on occurrence vs. claims-made policies covers why that trigger matters so much here.
| Item | Typical 2026 charge | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Blanket AI endorsement (ongoing only) | Often included or a small flat fee | Standard on most contractor GL policies |
| Blanket AI including completed operations | Small flat fee to a modest percentage of GL premium | Availability depends heavily on class |
| Scheduled CG 20 37 per party | Small per-certificate charge | Slower to issue; fine for occasional jobs |
| High-hazard classes (roofing, structural, residential) | Priced into base GL rate; sometimes declined | Appetite is the real constraint, not the fee |
These are illustrative ranges, not filed rates. The pattern worth internalizing: the endorsement fee is almost never the obstacle — carrier appetite is. Plenty of carriers will happily add ongoing operations additional insured status and quietly refuse to extend it to completed operations on the trades where defect litigation is most common. That refusal doesn't show up on a certificate. It shows up when a claim lands.
And if you're the party on the receiving end — a GC collecting certificates from subs — the same discipline runs in reverse. A certificate proves nothing on its own; see additional insured vs. certificate of insurance for why the ACORD form is informational and the endorsement is the document that matters.
Bettr Coverage is an independent commercial insurance agency serving Georgia and the wider Southeast. Contract insurance requirements are where a lot of contractors quietly get exposed — not because they refused to buy something, but because nobody read the subcontract against the actual endorsements on the policy. We do that reading before you sign: match the additional insured forms and edition dates to what the contract demands, confirm whether your blanket endorsement reaches completed operations or stops at ongoing, keep the endorsements alive through renewals so the occurrence tail stays intact, and shop the program across multiple carriers when your current one won't extend completed operations status on your class of work. One agency, one relationship, the whole endorsement stack handled before the job starts rather than after a claim.
Send us your subcontract and your current GL endorsements. We'll tell you in plain language whether they match — before you sign, and at no charge.
Get a free coverage reviewCG 20 10 grants additional insured status for your ongoing operations — work in progress. CG 20 37 grants it for your work in the products-completed operations hazard — claims arising after the job is finished. Two different time windows; neither reaches the other's.
In almost every construction contract, yes. Clauses typically require additional insured status "for ongoing and completed operations," which takes two endorsements or one blanket form drafted broadly enough to reach both.
The 04 13 editions added two limits: coverage only to the extent permitted by law, and no broader than the written contract requires. Older editions were broader. Read the edition date on the endorsement, not just the form number on the certificate.
Sometimes. Blanket forms are carrier-drafted and vary widely — many are ongoing operations only, some cap the completed operations duration. If the wording doesn't say "products-completed operations hazard," assume it doesn't reach it.
Two clocks: the endorsement's own duration language, and the occurrence trigger — the GL policy in force when the damage occurs is the one that responds. The endorsement has to survive every renewal, and completed operations coverage has to stay unexcluded.
Usually a small flat fee or included, though high-hazard trades see it priced into the base GL rate. The bigger constraint is carrier appetite — some carriers simply won't grant completed operations status on certain classes.
No. A certificate is informational and confers no coverage — it says so on its face. Additional insured status exists only if an endorsement is actually attached to the policy. Ask for the endorsement, not just the ACORD.
For general information only. Not legal advice and not a quote or contract of insurance. Endorsement form numbers, edition dates, and wording differ by carrier and change over time; blanket endorsements are carrier-drafted and are not standardized. Cost ranges are illustrative, not filed rates, and vary by state, carrier, class of work, and underwriting. Anti-indemnity statutes and their effect on additional insured grants differ by state and are interpreted by courts — confirm specifics with a licensed agent and, where contract terms are at issue, construction counsel. Coverage subject to policy terms and carrier appetite.