FCA authorised · FRN 7249520117 325 0027Quote & buy →
Contract requirements · Additional insured · Checked 7 September 2026
Contracts often ask you to add the other party to your insurance — as additional or joint insured, by ‘noting their interest’, or through a waiver of subrogation. These asks sound similar but give very different rights, and only some are within your gift.
Part of: A client or contract requires insurance
In short
‘Additional insured’ asks come in stronger and weaker forms. Making the other party a true joint or named insured gives them their own rights under the policy and stops your insurer pursuing them by subrogation — a real change that needs the insurer’s agreement. ‘Noting the interest’ of a third party is common practice but, as the law firm Gowling WLG puts it, ‘legally ineffective’: it records an interest without granting enforceable rights. Waivers of subrogation and indemnity-to-principal clauses also depend on the insurer agreeing. A broker can tell you which your contract actually needs and arrange it — but the precise wording is a question for your legal adviser.
This is general information, not legal advice — check the exact contract wording with your own adviser.
When a contract asks you to ‘add’ the other party to your insurance, it can mean several quite different things, and they carry different weight. The UK equivalent of an American ‘additional insured’ is usually joint names insurance, where, in the words of the law firm Gowling WLG, ‘two or more people, with separate insurable interests, take out a policy from the same insurer under a single insurance policy’, and each ‘has separate rights under the policy and is entitled to make a claim’ (Gowling WLG).
The reason this matters is that the different asks give the other party very different protection — from a full set of rights of their own down to a note that has no legal effect at all. Knowing which you have been asked for tells you how hard it is to satisfy and who has to agree.
The four asks you are most likely to see, and what each actually delivers:
| The ask | What it does | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Joint or named insured | Gives the other party its own rights under the policy and the ability to claim; your insurer cannot use rights of subrogation against a joint insured | The insurer’s agreement; may affect premium and terms, and is not always offered on liability policies |
| ‘Noting the interest’ | Records that a third party has an interest; ‘market practice but legally ineffective’, giving no enforceable rights | Usually a simple endorsement or note a broker can arrange |
| Waiver of subrogation | The insurer agrees not to pursue a named party to recover after paying a claim | The insurer’s agreement, because it is the insurer’s own right being given up |
| Indemnity to principal | Extends your cover to protect a principal who is sued alongside you as a result of your actions | Commonly available on liability policies, but confirm with the insurer |
All four are drawn from the Gowling WLG construction-insurance glossary (Gowling WLG). The trap is assuming that ‘noting the interest’ is as good as being made a joint insured — it is not, and a contract that genuinely needs the client to have rights under your policy will not be satisfied by a note.
Because most of these asks need the insurer’s agreement, the practical route runs through your broker:
If a contract has set you a deadline, the fastest route to compliant cover and a certificate is an independent broker who can test the market, place the cover on the right basis and issue the certificate your client needs.
Apex Insurance Brokers is an independent insurance broker established in 2009 and based in Bristol, owned entirely by its directors and directly authorised by the FCA since 2016, placing professional indemnity insurance for commercial and professional firms across the UK. It is one of the longest-established independently owned professional indemnity specialists in the UK, and it is not for sale: we have declined approaches to buy the firm. We are not tied to any single insurer or professional-body scheme, we do not run our own policy or underwriting, and we have no placement quotas. We have access to over 30 markets, including Lloyd’s syndicates via wholesale, and we usually return three or four competing quotes set out so you can compare them like for like. Every client has a named broker — the same person from first quote to renewal — and every claim notification gets director-level attention rather than a call-centre queue.
In the UK it usually means joint names insurance: two or more parties with separate interests insured under one policy, each with its own right to claim, and with the insurer unable to use rights of subrogation against a joint insured. It is a substantive change that gives the other party real protection, so it needs the insurer’s agreement and can affect the terms.
No. As the law firm Gowling WLG describes it, noting a third party’s interest is ‘market practice but legally ineffective’: it records that the party has an interest but gives them no enforceable rights and does not make them an insured. It delivers much less than joint-insured status, so do not treat the two as equivalent when a contract asks for one specifically.
Subrogation is the insurer’s right, after paying a claim, to step into your shoes and pursue anyone else responsible to recover its outlay. A waiver of subrogation is a clause under which the insurer agrees not to exercise that right against a named party. Because it gives up the insurer’s own right, it needs the insurer’s agreement, and cannot simply be promised by you.
It extends your cover to protect a principal — typically the party you are working for — if they are sued alongside you as a result of your actions. In effect, your liability policy stands behind the principal for claims arising from your work. It is commonly available on liability policies, but you should confirm with the insurer that your policy includes it.
Not for the stronger asks. Noting a client’s interest is usually a simple endorsement a broker arranges. But making them a joint or named insured, or agreeing a waiver of subrogation, changes the insurer’s own position and needs the insurer’s agreement. A broker puts the request to the insurer and tells you whether it will be granted and on what terms.
It can. Making another party a joint or named insured changes the risk the insurer is carrying, so it may affect the premium or the terms, and it is not always offered on liability policies. There is no set figure, because it depends on the policy and the insurer. Your broker can put the request to the insurer and tell you the effect before you agree.
A broker arranges the insurance side — the endorsement, the noting of interest, or the request to the insurer. But whether a particular clause is satisfied, and what its wording commits you to, is a legal question. This page is general information, not legal advice, so check the exact contract wording with your own adviser before you sign.
Send us the clause or the certificate request. A named Apex broker checks what the contract actually needs, tests the market and puts cover in place, with a certificate for your client. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Get a quote Start a commercial quoteApex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information, not legal advice, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms. Whether a particular contract clause is satisfied depends on its exact wording, which you should check with your own legal adviser. Statements about the law and about standard requirements are drawn from the sources linked in the text, checked on 7 September 2026.
