Does My Tenant Need to Name Me as Additional Insured?

Yes. In virtually every commercial lease, the landlord (and often the property management company and the lender) should be named as an additional insured on the tenant's commercial general liability policy.

This is not optional or negotiable - it's a standard lease requirement that exists for a specific protective purpose. If your tenant has not done this, you have a significant coverage gap regardless of whether a COI is on file.

What "Additional Insured" Status Actually Does

When you are named as an additional insured on your tenant's CGL policy, you gain the right to make a claim under that policy if a third party sues you for something related to the tenant's operations.

Example: A customer slips and falls in your tenant's retail space and sues both the tenant and you as the property owner. The tenant's GL policy, on which you are named as additional insured, will defend and indemnify you as part of that claim. Without additional insured status, your own GL policy responds - affecting your premiums and claims history.

Additional insured status also protects you in situations where the tenant's negligence causes property damage to other tenants or third parties, and those parties look to you as the landlord.

The "Primary and Non-Contributory" Requirement

Simply being listed as additional insured is not always sufficient. Your lease should - and most well-drafted leases do - require that the tenant's policy respond on a primary and non-contributory basis.

This means:

• Primary: The tenant's policy pays first, before your own insurance is triggered
• Non-contributory: Your insurance does not contribute to a loss covered by the tenant's policy

Without this language, the tenant's insurer may argue that your policy should share in the loss - a dispute that delays claim resolution and may result in your policy bearing more cost than intended.

How to Verify Your Tenant Has Done This

A certificate of insurance that shows you as a certificate holder does not confirm you are an additional insured. These are different statuses:

• Certificate holder: You receive a copy of the certificate. No coverage rights.
• Additional insured: You have actual coverage rights under the policy.

To verify additional insured status, you need either:

1. An ACORD 25 certificate with your name listed in the "Additional Insured" section, AND
2. Evidence of the additional insured endorsement - specifically, the CG 20 10 or CG 20 37 endorsement form attached to the policy

The certificate alone is not sufficient. Many tenants list certificate holders and additional insureds in the wrong field. Brokers sometimes make errors. The actual endorsement is what the insurer will look to in a claim.

Additional Insured Verification Checklist:

• Your entity name appears in the "Additional Insured" field on the ACORD 25 form
• The correct legal entity name is used (not a trade name or abbreviation)
• The endorsement basis is "primary and non-contributory" per your lease requirement
• The endorsement form (CG 20 10, CG 20 37, or equivalent) is referenced or attached
• The property management company and lender are added if required by the lease

Common Mistakes That Leave Landlords Unprotected

Wrong entity name. The certificate shows "ABC Properties" but your lease entity is "ABC Property Holdings LLC." The insurer will argue the endorsement doesn't apply.

Contributory basis. The endorsement exists but doesn't specify primary and non-contributory. Your insurer and the tenant's insurer dispute priority.

Certificate holder only. Your name appears in the certificate holder field (bottom of ACORD 25), not the additional insured field. You have notification rights, not coverage rights.

No actual endorsement. The COI claims additional insured status but no endorsement was actually issued. This happens when brokers check boxes on certificates without securing the underlying endorsement.

Who Else Should Be Named?

Beyond the landlord, commercial leases typically require additional insured status for:

• The property management company (if different from landlord entity)
• The lender / mortgagee
• Any ground lessor
• Any entities specified in the lease's insurance exhibit

Each entity should be named in the endorsement, not just listed as a certificate holder.

What Happens If Your Tenant Hasn't Done This

If your tenant's policy doesn't name you as additional insured - or names the wrong entity, or lists you on a contributory basis - you have an uncured breach of the lease insurance requirement. Your remedies depend on your lease language, but typically include:

• Written notice of deficiency and a required cure period
• Right to require the tenant to obtain a correcting endorsement
• In persistent cases, right to treat as a material breach

Document the deficiency, your notice to the tenant, and the resolution in your compliance files.

Related Resources

• Difference Between Insured and Additional Insured
• How Do I Know If a COI Is Valid
• Do Landlords Need COIs from Tenants
• How to Write Insurance Requirements into a Contract

Bramble reads your leases and verifies that additional insured endorsements match your actual contractual requirements - including entity name and endorsement basis. Book a demo at getbramble.com.