When a contract tells you to add a general contractor or owner as an additional insured, there is more than one way to write the endorsement. The two common approaches, per-project and blanket, grant the same status but manage it very differently.
How per-project works
A per-project endorsement generally names a specific job or a specific party and grants additional insured status for that one arrangement. The scope is tight. That gives you clear control over exactly who is added and for what, which some contractors like. The tradeoff is upkeep. Every new job that requires additional insured status generally needs its own endorsement, so the administration grows with the number of projects you run.
How blanket works
A blanket endorsement generally extends additional insured status automatically to any party you have agreed in a written contract to add, without naming each one separately. Instead of chasing a fresh endorsement per job, the coverage follows your contracts. For a contractor juggling several jobs, that automatic quality is the appeal. The scope is defined by your written agreements and by the endorsement wording, so what you sign matters.
What a GC usually demands
General contractors frequently ask for blanket wording. From their side of the table, it is consistent and fast. They do not want to verify a separate endorsement for every subcontractor on every project, and blanket wording that tracks written contracts gives them a predictable answer. That said, the contract is the authority. Some contracts specify the exact endorsement form or basis they will accept, so read the requirement and match the endorsement to it rather than assuming either approach satisfies it.
The cost and administration tradeoff
The real decision is usually about scope, upkeep, and cost. Per-project keeps things narrow and controlled but adds paperwork with every job, and a missed endorsement on a busy schedule is a live risk. Blanket reduces that administrative burden by following your contracts automatically, which is why it fits contractors running many jobs at once. Pricing and underwriting treatment can differ between the two depending on the carrier and how your policy is built, so the tradeoff is partly financial and partly operational. Remember that the endorsement wording, not the certificate, controls the coverage.
Which one fits
If you run one or two projects at a time and want tight control, per-project can work and keeps the scope clear. If you run several jobs at once, or your general contractors demand blanket wording, a blanket endorsement that tracks your written contracts usually fits better and cuts the chance of missing a required party. In both cases, match the endorsement to what your contracts actually require and confirm the wording on the policy. For the underlying mechanics, see what is additional insured for contractors and named insured vs additional insured.
Questions to ask your advisor
- Is my additional insured endorsement written on a per-project or blanket basis?
- Does the endorsement wording satisfy what my contracts specifically require?
- How many jobs do I run at once, and which approach fits that volume?
- What is the cost and underwriting difference between the two on my policy?
- How do I make sure no required party gets missed at endorsement time?
Per-project and blanket both get a general contractor added as an additional insured, they just manage the scope and the paperwork differently. Match the approach to how you actually work and to what your contracts demand, and let the endorsement wording, not the certificate, be the thing you rely on.
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