Can my broker write whatever the certificate holder asks for?

No. The box may describe coverage only as the policy actually provides it. In New York it is prohibited to require certificate wording the policy does not support, and in every state a certificate that overstates coverage creates a problem for the agency that issued it and protects nobody.

What if the wording does not fit in the box?

The broker attaches an additional remarks page to the certificate. Long lists of additional insureds, several project addresses or vehicle schedules are usually carried there.

Does the description of operations make someone an additional insured?

No. An additional insured is made by an endorsement on the policy, either naming the holder or blanket for anyone you agree in a written contract to add. The box only reports that the endorsement applies to this holder.

My client needs three certificates with the same wording for different holders. Is that normal?

Yes. Funders, landlords and general contractors each want their own certificate with their own name in the holder box. The description wording can repeat, adjusted for each holder’s role.

Why was my certificate rejected?

In our experience, in order: the holder’s legal name is wrong, the required endorsement is not referenced, a limit is below the contract figure, or the certificate predates the current policy term. Send us the rejection and the contract and we will tell you which.

A certificate of liability insurance on a dark desk under a lamp with the large text box near the bottom highlighted in yellow, an envelope and a pen beside it

What goes in the description of operations box on a certificate of insurance?

The description of operations box says which job, location, contract or vehicle the certificate concerns, and which endorsements apply to the certificate holder: additional insured, primary and non-contributory, waiver of subrogation. It can only point to coverage the policy already has. A certificate holder that sends required wording is asking you to prove an endorsement exists, so the broker checks the policy first and then writes the wording with the endorsement’s form number.

Call/Text(626) 344-2158

/ Start here

Tell us the situation.

One licensed human replies the same business day — not five agents, not an auto-responder. If the policy you have is already the right one, we will tell you.

We use this to quote and service your insurance, and we do not sell it or pass it to lead networks. Privacy policy.

/ Who handles this

Joe Gorman

Co-Founder | President of Commercial Lines

Came up in construction, on site and in the office, then moved into sales. Went out on a limb to become Boring’s first dedicated salesperson when the agency had no sales team at all, and now leads it. Landscaping is the class he writes most: grounds maintenance, tree work, irrigation and the spray operations that push an account out of preferred appetite.

/ Don’t want to read all this?

Send us what you have. We’ll tell you if it’s right.

Your current policy paperwork, a renewal notice, or nothing at all. A licensed agent reads it and replies the same business day.

Have it reviewed Call/Text(626) 344-2158

The detail

A certificate of insurance may not "amend, extend, or alter the coverage provided by the insurance policy," and the section also prohibits requiring certificate wording that reflects terms not actually in the policy.
New York Insurance Law section 502, "Prohibitions" (certificates of insurance)
Questions about the description of operations wording came up 15 times in our service records between August and October 2026, including a Medicaid contract that required waiver of subrogation and specific operations wording, and a state agency and a city department that both had to be named as additional insureds on one certificate.
Boring Insurance call records, calls graded Aug 20 to Oct 4, 2026 (clients and carriers unnamed)

What this means for you

Name the job, not just the business. "All operations of the named insured" is accurate and often rejected. A holder wants the contract number, the project address or the program name, so its reviewer can match the certificate to its file.
Reference the endorsement by form number. "Certificate holder is an additional insured per CG 20 10 04 13 with respect to ongoing operations" tells a reviewer exactly what exists. "Certificate holder is additional insured" without a form number is the wording most often sent back.
Use the holder’s exact legal name. A missing "Inc.", the wrong department or a former name is the most common reason a certificate is rejected, and the fix takes minutes once you know.
Ask for the wording before the deadline. If the holder sends required language, forward it to your broker with the contract. Wording that matches an endorsement already on the policy is a same-day certificate; wording that needs a new endorsement waits on the carrier.

Go deeper on any of these

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.