CG 20 26: What the Designated Person or Organization Endorsement Covers
CG 20 26 is the endorsement that puts a named person or organization on a vendor's or sub's general liability policy as an additional insured, with no project or location attached. Owners, landlords, property managers and cities ask for it. This guide covers what the current edition covers, what it leaves out, how it differs from CG 20 10, and how to check it.
CG 20 26 is the ISO endorsement Additional Insured – Designated Person or Organization. It adds whoever is named in its schedule to a vendor's or sub's general liability policy, for injury or damage caused in whole or in part by the vendor's ongoing operations or by premises the vendor owns or rents. It has no location schedule, it doesn't reach completed operations, and the cover is capped at what your contract requires. The proof is the endorsement page with your exact legal name in the schedule, not a ticked box on the certificate.
In this guide
What CG 20 26 is
CG 20 26 is the Insurance Services Office (ISO) form titled Additional Insured – Designated Person or Organization. The current standard edition is CG 20 26 04 13. It is a one-page endorsement to a commercial general liability policy, and it does one thing: it amends the policy's Who Is An Insured section to add whoever is named in its schedule.
That schedule has a single field, the name of the additional insured. There is no project and no job-site address, which is the difference from the construction forms. Once your name is on it, you're an additional insured under the vendor's policy, within the limits the form sets out below, for any of the vendor's ongoing work, not just one job.
Being an additional insured rather than a certificate holder is what lets you claim on the vendor's policy at all. CG 20 26 is one of the endorsements that makes you one.
What it covers, and what it doesn't
The 04 13 edition is short, and every limit in it matters. Read against the form, here is what you get:
| Question | What CG 20 26 04 13 says |
|---|---|
| What kind of claim | Bodily injury, property damage, and personal and advertising injury. |
| Whose fault it has to be | Caused, in whole or in part, by the vendor or people acting on its behalf. If the loss is entirely your own doing, the vendor's policy doesn't pick it up. |
| During the work | Covered: liability from the vendor's ongoing operations. |
| Premises | Covered for premises the vendor owns or rents. That is the vendor's own shop, yard or leased space, not your building. |
| After the work is finished | Not named. Completed operations need CG 20 37. |
| How broad | Only as far as the law allows, and no broader than your contract requires the vendor to provide. |
| How much | The lesser of the amount your contract requires and the policy limits. The endorsement doesn't add limits. |
Two of those rows tie the cover to your contract. A vague insurance clause, or one with a low minimum, shrinks what CG 20 26 gives you, even when the vendor carries more. The endorsement only works as well as the contract it points back to. Subcontractor insurance requirements covers the minimums and the other endorsements a contract usually asks for.
CG 20 26 vs CG 20 10 vs CG 20 37
All three are ISO additional insured forms for general liability, current editions dated 04 13. They differ in who they're written for and when they apply:
| CG 20 26 | CG 20 10 | CG 20 37 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written for | Any designated person or organization | Owners, lessees and contractors | Owners, lessees and contractors |
| Tied to a location | No | Yes, the locations in its schedule | Yes, the locations in its schedule |
| During the work | Yes, the vendor's ongoing operations | Yes, ongoing operations performed for you | No |
| After the work | No | No | Yes, completed operations |
| Vendor's own premises | Yes | No | No |
| Typical ask | Property managers, landlords, cities, venues | GC subcontracts, with CG 20 37 | GC subcontracts, with CG 20 10 |
On a construction subcontract the usual requirement is CG 20 10 with CG 20 37, often written "20/37", and the CG 20 10 vs CG 20 37 guide covers that pair. CG 20 26 fits relationships that aren't a single project: a vendor who works across a portfolio, a tenant in your building, a permit holder on public property. If you accept CG 20 26 from a contractor whose work can cause claims after it leaves, such as roofing, plumbing or electrical, ask for CG 20 37 as well.
Who asks for it
Property managers
HVAC, landscaping, cleaning and repair vendors working across several properties. One endorsement naming the management company and the owner covers the vendor wherever it works for you.
Landlords
Commercial tenants. The premises part of CG 20 26 is about premises the tenant rents, which is your space when you're the landlord.
Owners and HOAs
Contractors and service vendors hired directly, without a GC in between. Name the owner entity and, for an HOA, the association.
Cities and venues
Permit holders, film crews and event vendors. New York City's film office publishes a sample CG 20 26 naming the city for that reason.
The premises trap: "premises owned by or rented to you" means the vendor's premises, because "you" in the form is the policyholder. A plumber working in your building is covered under ongoing operations, not under premises. Don't read the premises line as cover for your property.
Where it appears on the certificate
On the ACORD 25, the general liability row has an ADDL INSD box. A tick says the agent believes the policy carries additional insured cover for someone. The agent usually adds a line in Description of Operations, such as "the certificate holder is an additional insured per CG 20 26." Both are information only: the certificate says itself that it doesn't amend the policy.
The proof is the endorsement page. Check three things on it:
- The form number and edition in the footer, CG 20 26 04 13 or the carrier's equivalent. Older editions word the cover differently.
- The name in the schedule matches your legal entity exactly, and lists everyone your contract requires: the owner, the management company, the association.
- Contract wording instead of a name. Some carriers fill the schedule with something like "any person or organization where required by written contract." That works only if your contract was signed, and required the cover, before the loss.
The COI audit checklist covers the other boxes to read on the same certificate.
How to require it and check it
Name the form, or the cover, in the contract
Your vendor agreement or lease should require additional insured status on the vendor's general liability policy, by endorsement CG 20 26 or equivalent, in favor of every entity that needs it. Have your attorney set the wording once.
Set the minimum you actually need
CG 20 26 pays the lesser of your contract minimum and the policy limits. A $500,000 minimum gets you $500,000, whatever the vendor carries.
Add CG 20 37 where work outlasts the visit
For trades whose work can cause a claim months later, require completed operations cover too.
Ask for the endorsement page with the certificate
Check the form number, the edition and the exact names in the schedule, not just the ADDL INSD box.
Check it again at renewal
Endorsements can drop off when a policy renews or the vendor changes carriers. A new certificate needs a new look at the endorsement.
An additional insured endorsement for every vendor, each on its own renewal date, is the check that slips first. Insurance endorsement verification reads the forms themselves, and COI tracking software keeps each policy on its own dates so the renewal check happens.
How TrackMyVendor automates this
- The ADDL INSD box is read on every coverage row of the certificate, along with the carrier, policy number, dates and limits.
- Endorsement forms are read, and a CG 20 26 is recognised as additional insured cover by its form number. Pro
- Require the additional insured endorsement on your checklist, and a vendor who hasn't sent one shows it as missing until it arrives. Starter
We read the certificates and endorsement forms you're sent; we don't read your contract or lease, so we can't confirm the cover matches what it requires. That stays with you and your attorney.
See how endorsement verification worksCertificates and endorsements, collected together
Vendors and subs upload the certificate and the endorsement pages through one link — no account, no portal. Every policy is read and tracked on its own dates. Your first 25 contractors are free.
Frequently asked questions
What is a CG 20 26 endorsement?
What is the difference between CG 20 26 and CG 20 10?
Does CG 20 26 cover completed operations?
Is CG 20 26 a blanket additional insured endorsement?
Does CG 20 26 give me the sub's full policy limits?
This guide explains how the standard CG 20 26 04 13 form commonly works. It isn't insurance or legal advice: editions, carrier wording and state law differ, and the policy and your contract govern. Ask your broker and attorney about your own requirements.
Insurance on a sub’s certificate
What to require from every sub, one term at a time.
Subcontractor insurance requirements: start here → Coverage, minimums and endorsements to require from subs, with every term below in one table