# Reading a Contract Insurance Exhibit: A Line-by-Line Method for General Contractors

URL: https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/insights/reading-a-contract-insurance-exhibit
Updated: 2026-10-29 · Reviewed by the Principal, Gleason Insurance Brokers, LLC
Publisher: My Contractors Insurance Quote, a website of Gleason Insurance Brokers, LLC

A general contractor should read an owner's insurance exhibit together with the indemnity clause, then test each requirement against the endorsement that would have to deliver it: additional insured form, primary and noncontributory wording, waiver of subrogation, aggregate, excess terms, builders risk and notice. Anything the current program cannot deliver should be negotiated or endorsed before signing, not discovered on a certificate request. The same exhibit then has to flow down to subcontractors at least as broadly as it reached the GC.

## Key Decision Points
- Read the exhibit and the indemnity clause as one document; insurance requirements usually exist to fund the indemnity.
- Match every requirement to a specific endorsement form, not to a box on a certificate.
- Check whether the excess policy follows the primary on additional insured status and primary wording.
- Confirm in writing who buys builders risk and who absorbs its deductible.
- Flow the owner's requirements down to subcontractors, adjusted for state indemnity law.

## Start with the Indemnity Clause, Then the Exhibit

An insurance exhibit rarely stands alone. It usually sits behind an indemnity article that says what the GC must pay for, and the exhibit then says how the GC must insure that promise. Reading them separately is how contractors end up agreeing to an additional insured requirement that reaches the owner's own negligence when the indemnity article, or state law, would not allow it. Put the two side by side and mark every place where one is broader than the other.

Then make a three-column worksheet: the requirement as written, the policy or endorsement that would satisfy it and whether the current program already has it. That worksheet becomes the negotiation list, the request to the carrier for new endorsements and the record that shows the GC read the contract before signing. The sections below follow the order most owner exhibits use.

For how the exhibit fits the GC's overall program, see [general contractor insurance and bonding](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/who-we-serve/general-contractors).

## Additional Insured: Who, for What and for How Long

Start with the list of parties. Exhibits often name the owner, its parent and affiliates, the lender, the property manager, the architect and sometimes the city. Each one has to be reachable by the endorsement, either by name or through blanket wording that requires a written contract. Blanket endorsements commonly reach only parties the named insured agreed in writing to add, so an affiliate that is not a party to any contract with the GC may not qualify.

Next is scope. Some endorsement forms extend to liability caused in whole or in part by the GC's acts or omissions, others to liability arising out of the GC's work and some only to ongoing operations. If the exhibit asks for completed operations, look for a completed-operations additional insured endorsement and note how long the contract wants it maintained after completion. A contract that asks for several years of completed-operations status creates a renewal obligation that someone has to track.

Finally, check for limits on the additional insured's coverage. Some endorsements cap the additional insured at the lesser of the policy limits or the limits required by contract, and some apply only to the extent permitted by law. Those terms are often reasonable, but they should be visible to the owner before signing rather than raised after a claim.

How endorsement scope plays out after turnover is covered in [completed-operations status and subcontractor endorsements](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/resources/completed-operations-and-subcontractor-work).

### Illustrative scenario: A Private Office Interior in Phoenix with an Out-of-State Exhibit

A GC in Phoenix is awarded a two-floor office interior for a private owner whose national template exhibit was written for another state. The indemnity article asks the GC to indemnify the owner for all claims arising from the work, including those caused by the owner's sole negligence, and the exhibit requires additional insured status for the owner, its asset manager and its lender, on a primary and noncontributory basis, for ongoing and completed operations for five years. Because the contract is between private parties, A.R.S. section 32-1159 would void the sole-negligence part of the indemnity, and counsel recommends striking it rather than leaving it in. The worksheet shows that the GC's blanket additional insured endorsement reaches parties named in a written contract with the GC, which includes the lender only if the contract names it, and that the umbrella follows the primary's additional insured terms but is silent on primary wording. The GC asks its carrier for an excess endorsement and adds the lender by name before signing.

## Primary and Noncontributory, and Whether the Excess Follows

Primary and noncontributory wording tells the GC's insurer to respond before the owner's own policy and not to seek a share from it. The requirement is met by an endorsement or by policy wording that applies when a written contract requires it. A certificate that says primary and noncontributory without that wording behind it does not change how the policies respond.

The excess or umbrella layer is where many programs fall short. Exhibits often require total limits that can only be met by stacking excess on the primary. Ask whether the excess policy grants additional insured status on the same terms as the primary, whether it is primary to the owner's own excess and whether it follows the primary's endorsements or has its own. Some exhibits require the GC's excess to respond before any policy the owner carries, a request sometimes called vertical exhaustion, and not every excess form will agree to it.

When an exhibit's limit and excess terms do not fit the annual program, compare [dedicated liability limits for one project](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/project-specific-liability-insurance).

## Waivers of Subrogation and Limit Requirements

A waiver of subrogation stops the GC's insurer from pursuing the owner after paying a loss. Exhibits often ask for waivers on general liability, auto, umbrella and workers' compensation. Some also ask for waivers on builders risk and equipment. Each line needs its own wording. Workers' compensation waivers are typically added by a separate endorsement, and some carriers charge for them or require the project to be scheduled, so check before promising a blanket waiver on every line.

Limit requirements read differently than they look. Most exhibits state limits as minimums and say that higher limits carried by the GC must also be made available to the additional insured. A per-project aggregate endorsement, which gives each project its own general aggregate, is commonly requested on larger jobs. Note any requirement that limits be dedicated solely to this project, since an annual program usually cannot do that without a project-specific placement.

- Is each limit a minimum, and must excess above it be shared with the owner?
- Is a per-project or per-location aggregate required?
- Are deductibles or self-insured retentions capped, and who pays them?
- Are insurer financial ratings specified, and does the current carrier meet them?

How the project builders risk and each trade's equipment policy are tied together by waivers is explained in [how builders risk and equipment waivers fit together](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/builders-risk-insurance/cost).

## Builders Risk: Who Buys It and Who Carries the Deductible

Exhibits handle builders risk in three ways: the owner buys it, the GC buys it or the exhibit is silent and the general conditions decide. Find the answer before pricing the job, because a GC that must buy builders risk needs it in the bid and needs completed values from the owner. If the owner buys it, ask for the policy or a binder and confirm whether the GC and its subcontractors are insureds or are only protected by a waiver.

Then trace the deductible. Some contracts assign it to the party whose work caused the loss, others to the GC as a general cost and others to the owner. Water damage, theft and testing losses can carry deductibles much larger than the standard one, so ask for those figures before agreeing to absorb them. Also check how the exhibit expects coverage to end, since a form that ends at occupancy can leave a phased job exposed.

Values, deductibles and termination terms are explained under [builders risk on contractor-placed and owner-placed jobs](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/builders-risk-insurance).

## Notice of Cancellation and What a Certificate Can Promise

Many exhibits require the insurer to give the owner advance written notice of cancellation or material change. Standard liability forms generally owe cancellation notice to the first named insured, not to certificate holders. Some carriers will add an endorsement that sends notice to scheduled third parties, and where they will not, the usual alternative is a contract term making the GC responsible for giving notice. Either approach is cleaner than a certificate that recites a notice promise the policy does not make.

The same logic applies to the certificate itself. A certificate of insurance is evidence, and the common forms state that it confers no rights on the holder and does not amend the policy. When an owner's exhibit asks for certificate language that changes coverage, the answer is an endorsement or a negotiated change to the exhibit.

For pollution lines in particular, see [why a certificate showing GL and pollution can still hide a gap](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/resources/contractor-pollution-vs-general-liability).

## Flowing the Exhibit Down to Subcontractors

Whatever the owner requires of the GC, the GC usually needs from its subcontractors, plus additional insured status for the GC itself. The subcontract exhibit should name the owner and every party the prime contract lists, require completed-operations status for at least the same period, require primary and noncontributory wording and waivers on the same lines and set limits that make sense for the trade. Then collect the endorsements, not just certificates, before the subcontractor mobilizes.

Two traps recur. A subcontractor's policy may carry exclusions the GC's does not, such as residential, height, explosion-collapse-underground or subsidence limitations, which can leave the owner's additional insured status hollow for that trade. And on a wrapped project, the subcontract exhibit has to separate what the wrap provides from what the subcontractor must still carry for off-site work, auto and equipment.

Wrapped-project flow-down issues are covered in [how subcontractors enroll in an owner wrap](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/insights/ocip-enrollment-for-subcontractors).

## Where California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada Change the Reading

State law can void parts of the indemnity article and, in Texas, the additional insured requirements that track it. Texas Insurance Code section 151.102 makes a construction contract provision void and unenforceable to the extent it requires the indemnitor to cover claims caused by the indemnitee's own negligence or fault, with an exception in section 151.103 for claims by the indemnitor's own employees. Section 151.104 extends the same limit to provisions requiring additional insured coverage. Section 151.105 lists what the chapter does not affect, including the general agreements of indemnity sureties require and indemnity provisions for single family houses, townhouses, duplexes and related land development.

Arizona's A.R.S. section 32-1159 voids provisions in private construction contracts that would indemnify the promisee against losses from its sole negligence, and it does not apply to agreements where the state or a political subdivision is a party. California Civil Code section 2782 restricts indemnity for a promisee's sole negligence or willful misconduct in construction contracts. In each state, an exhibit drafted for another jurisdiction may ask for more than the law will enforce, and counsel should read those clauses before the GC promises insurance to back them.

Nevada's limits sit in its constructional defect statute. NRS 40.693 voids certain indemnity provisions in residential construction contracts, makes an additional insured pursue that coverage before suing a subcontractor for defense costs and requires disclosures when a wrap-up is used. On Nevada commercial work the statute does not apply, so the exhibit is read under the contract itself.

Texas specifics, including consolidated programs, are covered in [Texas contract and insurance rules for GCs](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/texas/audiences/general-contractors).

## Before You Ask for a Quote

### What to Gather
- The full prime contract, including the indemnity article, insurance exhibit and general conditions
- Current additional insured, primary and noncontributory and waiver of subrogation endorsements, by form number
- The umbrella or excess policy's additional insured and other-insurance wording
- Any per-project aggregate endorsement on the general liability policy
- The owner's builders risk binder or policy, if the owner is buying it
- The subcontract exhibit template the GC plans to use on this job

### What to Ask the Insurer or Surety
- Ask whether the blanket additional insured endorsement reaches every party the exhibit lists
- Ask whether the excess policy follows the primary on additional insured and primary wording
- Ask whether a workers' compensation waiver can be added for this project and at what cost
- Ask whether the carrier will endorse notice of cancellation to the owner
- Ask what the builders risk deductibles are for water, theft and testing losses
- Ask counsel which indemnity terms the governing state's law will not enforce

## Broker Notes

**Quick Answer:** Read the owner's insurance exhibit beside the indemnity clause, match each requirement to the endorsement that delivers it and negotiate or endorse any gap before signing. Then flow the same requirements down to subcontractors.

**Common Mistake:** Approving an exhibit by checking that the certificate can show each item. A certificate reflects the policy; if the endorsement behind an item does not exist, the requirement may be unmet whatever the certificate says.

**Broker Perspective:** A broker reads the excess layer and the subcontract template as closely as the primary policy, because those are where exhibits most often go unmet.

**Coverage Impact:** Whether an owner's claim is accepted as an additional insured typically depends on the endorsement form, the written contract requirement, completed-operations wording and any state law limiting indemnity or additional insured scope.

## Questions Buyers Ask

### The owner's exhibit lists its lender and asset manager. Does our blanket endorsement reach them?

It may, if the contract with your firm names them and your blanket endorsement extends to parties you agreed in writing to add. Many blanket forms require a written contract with the named insured, so a party that is mentioned only in the owner's loan documents may fall outside it. List each party by name in the prime contract or ask the carrier to schedule them.

### Our umbrella is follow-form. Does that satisfy a primary and noncontributory requirement on the excess?

Not necessarily. Follow-form excess usually adopts the underlying policy's terms, but other-insurance and additional insured wording in the excess form can still differ. Ask for the excess policy's own wording on additional insureds and on how it responds relative to the owner's policies, and ask the carrier for an endorsement if the exhibit requires the excess to respond first.

### Can an owner make us name it as additional insured for its own negligence?

It depends on the state and the contract. Texas Insurance Code chapter 151 voids additional insured requirements to the same extent it voids indemnity for the indemnitee's own negligence, with exceptions. Arizona and California restrict sole-negligence indemnity in construction contracts. Counsel should review the indemnity and insurance articles together before you agree to them.

### What should we do when the exhibit demands a notice of cancellation the carrier will not give?

Ask the carrier whether it will endorse notice to scheduled third parties. If it will not, propose a contract term making your firm responsible for notifying the owner of cancellation or material change. Avoid certificate wording that promises notice the policy does not provide, since the certificate itself typically does not amend the policy.

### How long should we keep completed-operations additional insured status for an owner?

As long as the contract requires, which commonly runs several years after completion and can tie to the state's repose period. That obligation means renewing a policy with the same endorsement each year or buying a project placement with a stated completed-operations term. Track the requirement by project so a carrier change does not drop it.

## Official Sources

1. [NRS 40.645, 40.646, 40.6472, 40.649 and 40.693 (constructional defect actions)](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-040.html#NRS040Sec693), Nevada Legislature. Pre-suit notice, 30-day forwarding, 90-day response, insurer duties, indemnity limits and wrap-up disclosures for residential contracts after February 24, 2015 Verified 2026-10-25.
2. [Tex. Ins. Code ch. 151 (§§151.102-151.105 indemnity and additional insured limits)](https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/IN/htm/IN.151.htm), Texas Legislature. Indemnity for the indemnitee's own negligence void with an employee-claim exception; matching limit on additional insured provisions; listed exclusions including surety indemnity agreements and single family residential work. Verified 2026-10-23.
3. [A.R.S. §32-1159 (indemnity agreements in construction contracts)](https://www.azleg.gov/ars/32/01159.htm), Arizona State Legislature. Provisions indemnifying a promisee against its sole negligence are void in private construction contracts; the section does not apply where the state or a political subdivision is a party. Verified 2026-10-23.
4. [Cal. Civ. Code §2782 (construction contract indemnity)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=2782), California Legislative Information. Restriction on construction contract indemnity for the promisee's sole negligence or willful misconduct. Verified 2026-10-23.

## Related Decisions

- [commercial GC insurance and bonds](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/who-we-serve/commercial-general-contractors)
- [pre-bid project insurance checklist](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/resources/project-insurance-checklist)
- [wrapped project insurance](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/wrap-up-insurance)
- [Arizona GC contract requirements](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/arizona/audiences/general-contractors)
- [construction insurance articles](https://mycontractorsinsurancequote.com/insights)

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Contract and insurance reviews are a courtesy service that may be available at times, depending on our workload and on the size, timing and complexity of the project. A review is not guaranteed and is limited to insurance considerations. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice from your own legal counsel, which you may need before signing a contract or obtaining coverage.

Insurance and surety services are provided through Gleason Insurance Brokers, LLC. Site information is educational and does not constitute legal advice, a binder, an offer of coverage, a guarantee of eligibility or confirmation of policy terms. Insurance conditions are governed by actual issued policies; surety rights and obligations are governed by bond and indemnity documents.