Purchasing general liability insurance coverage for your business is a no-brainer — but it can be a little tricky to determine who exactly needs to be included in your policy. In addition to the policyholder, business insurance policies can also cover additional insureds, such as a client or contractor. This article will cover additional insureds and crew members and how to add them to your policy.

What is an additional insured?

An additional insured is a person or entity added to a liability policy as an insured for a specific job, activity, or location. The additional insured has a business relationship with the policyholder but is not crew or an employee. Adding them as an additional insured to your liability policy extends coverage to them if a covered claim or lawsuit is brought against them for injury or damage related to their work with you or your company on that specific job, activity or location.

Why add an additional insured to your policy?

Adding an additional insured to your policy can help ensure that they’re protected in the event of a claim that arises out of your work while you are on the job. (There are instances where the additional insured wants to be protected for claims that arise out of your completed operations – be sure to ask about which one you need as the coverages differ.) You may want to add them to your policy because you have a business relationship with them or because it’s a part of your contract or agreement with them.

Who is considered a crew member?

Crew members aren’t the same as additional insureds. Your crew includes anyone who is engaged in a cooperative effort with you to perform the job responsibilities required for activities covered by your policy.

Why add coverage for crew members to your liability policy?

While adding additional insureds to your policy protects the individuals you add, adding coverage for crew members to your policy protects you and your business. Adding crew members to your liability policy can help to make sure that if a member of your crew makes a mistake or is negligent, your liability policy will respond if the result of their actions is covered by your policy.

Adding additional insureds to your general liability policy

Once you’ve identified the additional insureds who should be included on your policy, adding them is easy. You can add additional insureds on the Thimble website or through the mobile app during or after purchase by following these simple steps: 

  1. There are a few different ways to add an additional insured to your policy:
    • If you’ve already purchased a policy, log into your account, select your policy from the dashboard, and click “Add or edit” under Additional Insureds.
    • If you’re getting a quote for general liability coverage, you can add additional insureds when you review your quote before purchase by clicking “Add additional insureds” at the top of the page.
      To finish adding or editing an additional Insured, you will need to follow steps 2. through 6. below.
  2. You will need to include the name of your additional insured as it should appear on the certificate of insurance.
  3. You will need to enter your additional insured’s email address. They will receive an email with a PDF copy of your certificate of insurance and the additional insured endorsement showing that they are listed as an additional insured.
  4. You can also add optional information, like a description of the covered operations, certificate holder information, or completed operations coverage.
  5. Once all information is entered, you simply need to tap or click “Save.”
  6. If you need to add other additional insureds, tap or click “Add another.” You may repeat this process to add as many additional insureds as you need.

The right insurance coverage for your business

At Thimble, we make it quick and easy to secure general liability insurance coverage for your small business. Whether you need coverage by the job, month, or year, our flexible, scalable policies can help make sure you have the coverage you need to do your job. You can even add most additional insureds at no extra cost.

Businesses can easily get the coverage they need, when they need it, and for whomever needs it. Click on “Get a quote” below, answer a few questions, and you can get a general liability insurance policy in just a few minutes.