Endorsements
Mid-term policy changes for contractors: what can be endorsed, which ones to carry before you need them, and the timing rule that decides whether a claim is covered.
Endorsements are amendments to a policy during its term. They add or remove coverage, vehicles, states, and additional insureds. On a construction policy they are routine rather than exceptional, because contractor operations change constantly.
Most endorsements take effect from the date they are bound, not retroactively. That timing matters: an endorsement requested after a loss does not cover the loss.
An endorsement is bound from a date. If you ask for coverage effective from the date you started a job, that can often be arranged, but it cannot be arranged for a loss that has already happened.
The practical rule: when a contract requires something your policy does not have, ask before the work starts. Not before the loss, before the work. That is the only version of this that reliably works.
No. An endorsement is bound from a date, and it cannot apply to a loss that has already happened. This is the single most important timing rule on a construction policy.
It covers every contract you sign rather than naming each party individually. It means a new general contractor can be added to a certificate without amending the policy first, which is what makes same day certificates possible.
Those that add exposure usually add premium. Blanket additional insured and waivers of subrogation typically cost little or nothing, which is why they belong on the policy from the outset.
It gives each project its own aggregate limit rather than sharing one aggregate across every job. On a large project it stops one claim from exhausting the limit available to your other work.
Tell us what you need and when you need it. Deadlines are noted and handled first.
