Risk trigger
Contract insurance requirement review.
A new master service agreement, a landlord lease, or a lender covenant lands on legal's desk with eight pages of insurance schedule. We translate that language into specific endorsements, certificates, and policy mechanics that actually back the contract.
The situation
The certificate says yes. The policy says no.
Counterparty risk teams send insurance requirements written by lawyers and reviewed by other lawyers. Brokers respond with certificates of insurance that check the boxes. Nobody reads the underlying policy against the contract. Certificates are evidence of insurance; they are not coverage.
At claim, the contract demands primary and non-contributory additional insured status with completed operations on a CG 20 10 04 13 basis. The policy carries a CG 20 10 11 85 form, no completed ops, with a contributory other-insurance clause. The certificate didn’t lie. The policy doesn’t deliver.
Why most programs fail this test
The four failure modes we see most.
- Certificate that says yes but the policy says no. COI lists primary and non-contributory; the actual GL has no such endorsement, or carries an excess-only other-insurance clause.
- Missing primary and non-contributory. The contract requires it. The endorsement isn’t on the policy. Without it, the upstream party’s insurance contributes pro rata, defeating the purpose of the requirement.
- Additional insured limited to ongoing operations only. A CG 20 10 form alone covers ongoing operations. Without CG 20 37 or a combined edition, completed-operations claims after the work is finished are not covered for the additional insured.
- Indemnification that exceeds insurable limits. The contract assumes broad-form indemnity, including the indemnitee’s sole negligence. The contractual liability coverage in the GL won’t reach that, and many states bar enforcement of those clauses regardless.
What we look at
Contract clauses against policy mechanics.
- Additional insured wording: CG 20 10, CG 20 37, CG 20 38, blanket vs scheduled, ongoing vs completed operations, and proprietary forms drafted by the carrier.
- Primary and non-contributory language on each line that the contract reaches.
- Waiver of subrogation, scheduled or blanket, against the contract's specific waiver language.
- Indemnification clauses: broad-form, intermediate, and limited; state-specific anti-indemnity statutes; and how the GL's contractual liability coverage actually responds.
- Hold-harmless overlap with insurance requirements, where the same loss may be addressed twice with inconsistent mechanics.
- Insured-vs-insured impacts on D&O and EPL when the counterparty becomes an insured under the GL.
- Certificate of insurance vs the actual policy: every promise on the COI traced to a form, an endorsement, or a manuscripted wording.
- Notice provisions, cancellation language, and the cure period the contract demands.
How fast we move
Inside the contract negotiation window.
- Initial read in 2 to 3 business days
- Insurance schedule reviewed, gaps flagged, redline language proposed where the contract demands more than the program can deliver.
- Endorsement coordination in parallel
- Where endorsements are needed, Rush Insurance works the carrier in parallel so the contract closes without a coverage gap.
- One business day
- Initial response on every inbound. Contract signing schedules don’t wait.
Placement
How placement works through Rush Insurance.
Vetted Risk reads the contract, drafts the redline on insurance terms, and specs the endorsements the program needs. When endorsements have to be added, scheduled additional insureds named, or wording moved from manuscripted to standard ISO forms, the file moves to Rush Insurance, our licensed placement partner. Rush handles the carrier conversation and the policy change.
Vetted Risk is not licensed to sell, solicit, or negotiate insurance. Compensation related to placement flows to Rush. Vetted Risk receives no commission, no override, and no contingent compensation.
Related coverage lines
Where contract review usually lands.
-
Property & Casualty
GL forms, additional insured edition dates, primary and non-contributory wording, and umbrella follow-form for the contract tower.
Review P&C → -
Professional Liability
E&O additional insured options, contractual liability carve-backs, and indemnity language that reaches professional services.
Review E&O → -
Management Liability
Insured-vs-insured impacts, indemnification of directors and officers, and lender covenants that reach the D&O tower.
Review D&O →
Next step
Send the insurance schedule. We’ll send it back marked.
One business day response. Independent review. Placement coordinated through Rush Insurance.
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