Insurance & LiensQuestion 1506 of 1632

A subcontractor asks to be added as an 'additional insured' on the general contractor's CGL policy. From a risk-management standpoint, this request is:

a.Prohibited, since a CGL policy may name only one insured entity
b.Standard, because every sub on a job is an insured under the prime's policy
c.Required, because the mechanics lien statute conditions lien rights on it
d.Backwards, since the upstream party is normally named on the sub's policy

Explanation

Risk flows upward in construction insurance: the owner and general contractor are named as additional insureds on the subcontractor's policy, so that liability arising from the sub's work is answered by the sub's insurer. A sub asking to be added to the prime's policy asks for the reverse. (a) is simply false — a CGL policy can carry many additional insureds by endorsement. (b) confuses being on the same job with being on the same policy. (c) is a category error; the mechanics lien statute says nothing about insurance.

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