Skip to main content
Most construction subcontracts require three endorsements on the subcontractor’s policies. A template can require any of them on any coverage. The standard form for each endorsement, by coverage: For what the additional insured forms cover and how they differ, see Additional insured endorsements. A few states restrict a waiver of subrogation on workers’ compensation, and some use a form of their own in place of WC 00 03 13, so a subcontractor there may not be able to supply it. Waiver of subrogation: what it means and how to confirm it has the forms by policy, the states it was checked for, and a note to send the insurance agent. These are the standard ISO and NCCI form numbers the finding asks for on each coverage. Where there is no standard form (“None” above, and every other coverage), the finding asks for “the endorsement form” without naming one.

​
Why a checked box is not proof

An ACORD 25 states on its own face that it confers no rights and does not amend the policy. A Y in the ADDL INSD or SUBR WVD column, or a line in the description box, is a statement by whoever filled the form in. The endorsement form attached to the policy is the proof. So WatchMyCover records each required endorsement at one of three levels:
Needs review findings in WatchMyCover saying an endorsement is stated on the certificate but a certificate cannot amend a policy

Stated on certificate only: each finding names the endorsement form to ask the broker for.

Stated on certificate on its own leaves a subcontractor at Needs review, however good the rest of the certificate is. This is deliberate: reporting it as compliant would be exactly the false confidence the product exists to remove. To clear it, get the endorsement form, add it under Documents on file, and confirm it. If the gap is one you have agreed to accept for a time, an owner or admin can record an exception instead.
If chasing is on, a subcontractor whose endorsements are only stated is emailed a request for the documents listed in the finding, with their broker copied. See How chasing works.
Requirements versus certificate table with icons showing which endorsements are on file, only stated on the certificate, or not shown

The AI, WOS and P&NC columns show the evidence held for each endorsement.

​
Choosing the level when you record a certificate

In the certificate form, each coverage has a selector for Additional insured, Waiver of subrogation and Primary & non-contributory. Each starts at Not on certificate: only the person reading the document can say what it shows. When the form is filled in from the certificate PDF, a checked ADDL INSD or SUBR WVD box is set to Stated on certificate for you to check, never to Endorsement form on file.
Certificate form in WatchMyCover with the Additional insured, Waiver of subrogation and Primary and non-contributory selectors outlined

The three evidence selectors on each coverage in the certificate form.

  • Choose Stated on certificate when the ADDL INSD or SUBR WVD column shows Y, or the description box states the endorsement.
  • Choose Endorsement form on file only when you have the endorsement form itself, for example attached to the certificate or sent separately by the broker. Add it to the subcontractor’s Documents on file and confirm it there, so the proof is tied to the record.
The hint beside each selector shows whether the template requires it and what is on file now.

​
Confirming an endorsement form

When the form itself arrives, often after the certificate, it does not need the certificate recorded again.
  1. Add the file under Documents on file on the subcontractor’s page, or let the subcontractor send it through their upload link.
  2. Choose Endorsement form beside the file.
  3. Where it can, WatchMyCover reads the form: its form number, its policy number, and whether the additional insured is named or blanket. A form number it knows, such as CG 20 10, CG 24 04 or WC 00 03 13, suggests the coverage and the endorsement. Check what was read against the document.
  4. Choose the coverage the form is for and which endorsement it is, then Confirm: this form is on file.
That endorsement is then held as Endorsement form on file for the policy in force, the verdict is checked again at once, and the file is shown under Documents on file as the form it is: “Endorsement form CG 20 10 04 13: on file for additional insured, General Liability”. If the policy number on the form differs from the one on the certificate, you are shown both before confirming. An endorsement belongs to one policy. Reading the form never decides anything. It is your confirmation that changes the evidence level. A carrier’s own form, with a number WatchMyCover does not know, is confirmed the same way: you say what it is. A confirmed form stays with its policy period. Recording the same coverage again with the same policy number and the same effective and expiry dates, to correct a limit or add a line, keeps the endorsement at Endorsement form on file, whichever level is chosen in the certificate form. A renewal is a new period and needs its own form. To take a confirmation back, archive the form. Unless another form on file is confirmed for the same endorsement, it goes back to Stated on certificate, the verdict is checked again, and the form may be asked for again.

​
From a spreadsheet import

An import can only record Not on certificate or Stated on certificate. Yes, Y, X (and even On file) are recorded as stated; No records not on certificate; and a blank cell is recorded as stated too. See Importing from CSV or Excel.

​
Endorsements on optional coverages

If a coverage is included in the template but not mandatory, an endorsement problem on it is informational only and never changes the verdict. See Coverage types.

​
References