What is additional insured for completed operations (CG 20 37)?
It extends additional insured status to a party, usually the general contractor or the owner, for claims arising out of your work after that work is finished. It is a separate endorsement from the one covering work in progress, and a policy can carry one without the other.
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The detail
ISO form CG 20 37 grants additional insured status with respect to the products-completed operations hazard arising out of the named insured’s work.
ISO CGL endorsement CG 20 37
ISO form CG 20 10 grants additional insured status for ongoing operations, and does not extend to the completed operations hazard, which is why contracts requiring both name both.
ISO CGL endorsement CG 20 10
What this means for you
- The endorsement goes missing more than any other, and its absence surfaces last. Construction defect claims arrive years after handover, by which point the policy that should have carried it has renewed several times.
- Cheaper markets frequently exclude the completed operations hazard, or will write additional insured status for ongoing operations only. The premium difference is real and so is the reason for it. You are being quoted a narrower policy, not a better price.
- Check the form number, not the word. "Additional insured" on a certificate does not distinguish between the two, and the two are what the contract is distinguishing between.
- If your work is finished and the additional insured endorsement was ongoing-operations only, the general contractor is not covered for the claim they are about to tender to you. That conversation goes badly.
Related questions
- Why do contracts ask for both CG 20 10 and CG 20 37?
Because between them they cover the whole life of the work. CG 20 10 responds while the job is in progress; CG 20 37 responds to claims arising from the finished work. A general contractor being sued three years after handover needs the second one, and a policy carrying only the first leaves them to fund their own defense and then come looking for you.
- How long does completed operations coverage need to last?
Long enough to outlive the statute of repose for construction defect in the state where the work is, which is commonly a period of years and varies considerably. Contracts often require the coverage to be maintained for a stated number of years after completion for that reason, and letting the policy lapse or moving to a carrier that excludes the hazard can breach a contract you signed long ago.
- My quote is much cheaper than the others. Should I check this?
Yes, and this specifically. A materially cheaper contractor policy is usually cheaper for a reason that is written down somewhere in it, commonly a completed operations exclusion, a residential or tract housing exclusion, or an additional insured form that only covers ongoing work. Compare the endorsements, not the premiums.
- What is CG 20 37?
CG 20 37 is the ISO general liability endorsement titled Additional Insured, Owners, Lessees Or Contractors, Completed Operations. It gives the party scheduled on it, normally a general contractor or a project owner, additional insured status for claims that arise out of your work after that work is finished. It only ever covers the completed operations hazard, so a policy carrying CG 20 37 alone gives the general contractor nothing while the job is still under way.
- What is the difference between CG 20 10, CG 20 11, CG 20 12 and CG 20 37?
They are four additional insured endorsements aimed at four different parties. CG 20 10 covers owners, lessees or contractors for your ongoing operations. CG 20 11 is for managers or lessors of premises, the landlord version. CG 20 12 is for a state or governmental agency or political subdivision that has issued you a permit. CG 20 37 covers owners, lessees or contractors for your completed operations. A construction contract normally wants CG 20 10 and CG 20 37 together, and a lease wants CG 20 11.
- CG 20 10 in detail
Need this handled?
Reading about it and having it handled are different jobs, and the second one is ours. We place the accounts other brokers decline — claims history, a cancellation, an unusual operation, a business nobody wants to underwrite twice — and we will tell you when the policy you already have is the right one. Tell us the situation and a licensed human replies the same business day.
Written by the licensed brokers at Boring Insurance. Last updated 2026-08-18. See all guides.