---
title: "What Is an Additional Insured? — Lapidar"
url: https://getlapidar.com/glossary/additional-insured/
description: "Additional insured: a party added to a policy by endorsement. AI vs certificate holder, blanket endorsements, and commission on AI charges."
last_modified: "Wed, 14 Oct 2026 08:43:11 GMT"
source: getlapidar.com (HTML converted to Markdown at the edge)
---

Glossary · Insurance agency commissions

# Additional insured

An additional insured is a person or organization that is not the named insured but has been added to the policy as an insured, usually by endorsement, most often because a contract (a lease, a construction agreement, a vendor deal) requires it.

By Lapidar, the team building it · October 14, 2026 · Also called AI; additional insured endorsement

## What it means

Additional insured status is created by the policy, not by paperwork around it. Texas Department of Insurance guidance on [certificates of insurance](https://www.tdi.texas.gov/certificates/faq.html) addresses a holder who wants to be named as an additional insured when the policy has only a blanket endorsement: “May the certificate name the holder as an additional insured? No, though the certificate can state that the policy contains a Blanket Additional Insured endorsement.”

How it works: the client’s customer or landlord asks to be covered. The agency checks whether the policy already has a blanket (automatic) additional insured endorsement or asks the carrier for a scheduled one naming that party. As Chris Boggs of Big “I” Virtual University told [IA Magazine](https://www.iamagazine.com/2018/10/12/coi-requests-is-there-a-blanket-additional-insured-endorsement/), “ISO offers various automatic additional insured endorsements, and they differ greatly.” A [certificate holder](https://getlapidar.com/glossary/certificate-holder/) who is not added this way is not an insured.

### Why it matters for agency commissions

An additional insured endorsement is a mid-term change. Some carriers charge a flat premium for each scheduled additional insured, some include a blanket endorsement at no charge, and some charge once for the blanket form. When there is a charge, it is premium, so commission should follow at the policy’s rate; when it is billed as a fee, it usually carries none. Contractors with many jobs can produce a steady run of small endorsements that are easy to miss.

Lapidar

Lapidar checks carrier commission statements against your policy list and shows commission that is missing, short-paid or paid twice. One plan while it is in its founding pilot: USD 99 a month plus applicable tax, for up to 7 agencies, cancel anytime. [See pricing](https://getlapidar.com/pricing/?from=glossary-additional-insured). Or [open an account](https://app.getlapidar.com/signup?from=glossary-additional-insured).

## How it shows on a commission statement

A charged additional insured endorsement appears as an endorsement line on the policy number, often small, with commission at the policy’s rate. A blanket endorsement added at no charge leaves no line at all. Look for endorsements issued in your agency system that never reached a statement.

## Example

**Example data: invented additional insured endorsements on one contractor’s policy.**

| Policy | Transaction | Premium | Rate | Commission |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| EX-69204 | AI endorsement, owner A | 150.00 | 15% | 22.50 |
| EX-69204 | AI endorsement, owner B | 150.00 | 15% | 22.50 |
| EX-69204 | AI endorsement, owner C | 150.00 | — | — |
| Total |  | 450.00 |  | 45.00 |

Three endorsements were issued; the statement paid commission on two. The missing $22.50 is the question to ask. Commission rates on this page are invented; your agency agreement and commission schedule set the real ones.

## Commonly confused

- An **additional insured** has coverage under the policy; a [certificate holder](https://getlapidar.com/glossary/certificate-holder/) only receives evidence of coverage.
- The [named insured](https://getlapidar.com/glossary/named-insured/) buys the policy and holds the main rights under it; an additional insured does not.

## Common mistakes to check

- Treating a certificate that lists a party as proof that the party was added to the policy.
- Assuming every additional insured endorsement is free; some carriers charge premium for each one.
- Missing commission on small endorsement lines that arrive months after the endorsement was issued.

## Questions

### What is an additional insured in insurance?

A person or organization added to someone else’s policy as an insured, usually by endorsement, often because a contract requires it. It is not the named insured.

### Does a certificate of insurance make someone an additional insured?

No. Texas Department of Insurance guidance says a certificate cannot name a holder as an additional insured unless the policy provides it; status comes from the policy and its endorsements.

### Does an agency earn commission on an additional insured endorsement?

If the carrier charges premium for it, commission normally follows at the policy’s rate. A blanket endorsement included at no charge produces no premium and no commission.

### What is a blanket additional insured endorsement?

An endorsement that grants additional insured status automatically to parties that meet its conditions, such as those a written contract requires, without naming each one.

## Sources

- Texas Department of Insurance, [Certificates of Insurance Frequently Asked Questions](https://www.tdi.texas.gov/certificates/faq.html). Retrieved October 14, 2026.
- IA Magazine, [COI Requests: Is There a Blanket Additional Insured Endorsement?](https://www.iamagazine.com/2018/10/12/coi-requests-is-there-a-blanket-additional-insured-endorsement/), October 12, 2018. Retrieved October 14, 2026.

Lapidar is [commission reconciliation software for independent insurance agencies](https://getlapidar.com/), in its founding pilot. Related: [certificate holder](https://getlapidar.com/glossary/certificate-holder/).

In this entry

1. [What it means](https://getlapidar.com/glossary/additional-insured/#meaning)
2. [On a commission statement](https://getlapidar.com/glossary/additional-insured/#on-statement)
3. [Example](https://getlapidar.com/glossary/additional-insured/#example)
4. [Commonly confused](https://getlapidar.com/glossary/additional-insured/#confused)
5. [Common mistakes](https://getlapidar.com/glossary/additional-insured/#mistakes)
6. [Questions](https://getlapidar.com/glossary/additional-insured/#faq)
7. [Sources](https://getlapidar.com/glossary/additional-insured/#sources)

All 95 terms, from account current to written premium.

[Glossary A–Z](https://getlapidar.com/glossary/)

Find additional insured endorsements that never reached a statement.

[See a sample report](https://getlapidar.com/sample-report/?from=glossary-additional-insured)

## Reconciling statements is the hard part.

Find additional insured endorsements that never reached a statement. [See a sample report](https://getlapidar.com/sample-report/?from=glossary-additional-insured), or read [how the founding pilot works](https://getlapidar.com/pilot/).

[Open an account — founding pilot](https://app.getlapidar.com/signup?from=glossary-additional-insured)

[See pricing](https://getlapidar.com/pricing/?from=glossary-additional-insured)