All brokers what proof of insurance and will want to be added as a certificate holder but once in a while you'll run into one that wants to be added as an additional insured. If you add them as an addtional insured it can be one of the biggest mistakes you can make and here's why.

There is a BIG difference between adding a ####### as a certificate holder and additional insured.
A Certificate of Insurance is documentary proof that there exists insurance coverage to and from any business. People or business entities supplying services or goods to customers make good use of certificates of insurance in assuring customers that the liability, worker’s compensation, property as well as all other insurance coverage exists in order to enforce the numerous obligations as part of the obligations.

A Certificate of Insurance may be needed by an insurance company from those persons or business entities that provide services or goods to customers.
Having a certificate of insurance does not mean that it constitutes an insurance contract as it does not make changes to or modify the insurance coverage nor does it spell out exclusions. It only certifies that there existed insurance at the time of issuance. Certificate holders do not qualify to obtain information regarding policy changes during the validity of the insurance coverage. A certificate of insurance simply is "information" regarding the insurance policy, usually the type and amounts of insurance. Such certificates usually have language in the upper right hand corner stating that the certificate "is issued as a matter of information only and confers no rights." The certificates also usually provide that the insurer will give 30 days notice of the cancellation of the policy, but they typically go on to disclaim any liability arising from failure to give such notice.


Additional Insured is a separate document, and it makes the additional insured party an insured party under the company's general liability insurance and generally makes the company's insurance policy primary over the brokers general liability insurance.
This in turn typically means that in the event of a claim against the ####### arising out of the company's work, the company's insurance limits will be depleted before the insurance of the ####### comes into play, helping to ensure that the company has available insurance coverage for future claims that may be made against the same policy.
If the company is out of business, the insurance company has no incentive to provide a defense for the company. There is no potential liability for bad faith to the out-of-business company. But, if the ####### is an additional insured, the insurance company may be exposed to bad faith and typically will undertake the defense of the ####### and company, even though the company is out of business.
Another important aspect of being an additional insured is that the additional insured has bad faith rights against the insurer. This can be a very powerful tool. The most important scenario involves the bankrupt or out-of-business company. Even though the company is gone, the company may have insurance that provides coverage for a claim when the damage manifests several years later.

To make this simple to follow when you add some one to your car insurance as an additional insured that means that YOU and your insurance company are financially responsible.

There have been brokers that I have dealt with that have required to named "additional insured"; however, I contact my insurance company and ask them to list them as a "certificat holder" only. This insurance company faxes them the cert showing them as holder and so far, out of 52 brokers~ I haven't gotten any calls about it~  And yes..they are only "Holders". I made sure of that. Now I'm not saying that other brokers out there won't bark, but the people I deal with either haven't noticed or don't care~ Who knows>