Commercial Insurance Endorsement

A commercial insurance endorsement is known as a rider or clause and enables companies to change while offering protection. It’s an attached document that becomes part of your insurance policy, altering how your plan works. Endorsements allow policyholders to make various changes — from relocating to adding coverage — without the risk of losing coverage. For example, any changes to the boilerplate policy the carrier files with the state regulators are accomplished via an endorsement, including: 

• Changing the business address
• Adding a new line of coverage
• Excluding coverage for a specific exposure

Endorsements can be powerful, no matter your company’s developmental state (i.e., startup, growth, late-stage, public, etc.). Undergoing transformation and restructuring is merely part of operating a high-growth business. Ideas change, people leave, and the finish line consistently moves (or disappears altogether). Momentum is a positive thing, even when you need to modify the scope of your business insurance coverage. 

Additionally, others can request these alterations. For example, some state law requires specific endorsements. Also, the Insurance Services Office (ISO) frequently dictates commercial insurance endorsements according to its rules and regulations. 

Many different endorsements exist, and many are policy-specific. Still, the following are several common endorsements we see regularly:

• Adding or changing a location: This endorsement covers any modification to the insured’s property, such as extending your office space into the adjacent building or moving your warehouse to a new location. 
• Additional insured: As imagined, this endorsement adds another individual or entity to the policy. Common added insured are consultants, landlords, and contractors. 
• Increased limits: Sometimes, companies need to add endorsements to increase the limits. For example, you’d use an endorsement to extend workers’ compensation benefits not covered by state law. Or, you rent the space next to your current office to expand your team’s work zone. 
• Change in deductible: This endorsement involves who can change your deductible and when and how much it can be changed. 
  Editorial/administrative changes: Freshly-published policies can include mistypes, misspelling, or missing words. To correct the error, the insurer would add an endorsement. If a policyholder experienced a name change, an endorsement would also amend this.