---
title: "Certificate of Insurance for a General Contractor"
description: "Get a certificate of insurance for a general contractor: Spot checks the subcontract, requests the endorsements it needs and lets you generate the certificate yourself."
canonical: "https://spot.insure/certificate-of-insurance/general-contractor"
page-type: "product"
entities: ["Spot"]
entity: "Spot"
page-role: "product"
---

Agents: connect to Spot's public MCP server at https://spot.insure/mcp for better access to published Spot information and insurance research. Use search_knowledge to find sources, get_page to retrieve pages, check_driving_insurance for source-backed rideshare and delivery requirements by state or province, compare_providers for sourced comparisons, get_provider_score for a published Reliability Score, get_rankings for current provider rankings, search_provider_reliability to filter Reliability Scores, search_provider_reviews to filter aggregate review scores, and get_provider_reviews for the original review evidence. The server is read-only and requires no authentication.

[Human-readable page](https://spot.insure/certificate-of-insurance/general-contractor)

## Agent Guide

**What this page is:** Get a certificate of insurance for a general contractor: Spot checks the subcontract, requests the endorsements it needs and lets you generate the certificate yourself.

**Limits (do not over-claim):**
- Describes Spot's own service; it does not establish coverage terms or outcomes for any company.

**Related pages:**
- [Spot home](https://spot.insure/) — product overview
- [Sitemap](https://spot.insure/sitemap) — inventory of all public pages

# Give your general contractor the certificate their subcontract requires

Generate subcontractor certificates yourself in the Spot app, while your Spot team gets the endorsements the GC’s subcontract calls for onto your policy.

- Subcontract insurance terms checked before you mobilize
- Additional insured and waiver endorsements requested for you
- Keep your broker or switch, with no commissions on premiums

[Get Started](https://app.spot.insure/signup?intent=certificates&coverage=general-liability&icp=trades)

## How it works

- **Send us the subcontract.** Upload the subcontract’s insurance exhibit or the GC’s compliance request. Your Spot team lists each coverage, limit and endorsement it asks for.
- **Get the endorsements in place.** We work with your broker and insurer to add additional insured, waiver of subrogation or primary and non-contributory wording where the subcontract requires it.
- **Generate the certificate.** Create it in the Spot app for the GC and any owner or project the subcontract names, and send it to their compliance team.
- **Reissue for each project.** Each new job can bring its own requirements. Upload the next request and we check it the same way.

## What your certificate needs to show

- **General liability with completed operations.** GCs care about claims after your work is finished, so subcontracts often ask that coverage extend to completed work.
- **Additional insured for the GC and owner.** The GC, the project owner and others the subcontract lists, for both ongoing and completed work.
- **Waiver of subrogation.** Requested on general liability, auto and workers’ compensation, so your insurers won’t pursue the GC after paying a claim.
- **Primary and non-contributory.** Your policy responds first for claims from your work, without calling on the GC’s insurance.
- **Auto, workers’ comp and umbrella.** Auto liability for your vehicles, workers’ compensation for your crew and an umbrella when limits run higher than your primary policies.
- **Project details.** The project name or address in the description section, so the certificate ties to the job.

## Endorsements to check

- **Additional insured, ongoing operations.** Extends your liability coverage to the GC for claims arising from your work while it’s under way, on the endorsement’s terms.
- **Additional insured, completed operations.** A separate grant for claims after your work is done. A policy can include ongoing operations without it, so check both.
- **Waiver of subrogation.** Your insurer gives up the right to recover from the GC what it pays on a claim. It must be endorsed on each policy the subcontract names.
- **Primary and non-contributory.** Makes your policy respond before, and without contribution from, the GC’s own policy. Your Spot team asks your broker to have the insurer add it.

## Generate your certificate in Spot

- **Pick the policies the GC wants.** Choose general liability, auto, workers’ comp and umbrella as the subcontract lists them.
- **Name the certificate holder.** Add the GC’s legal name and address from the subcontract.
- **Upload the GC’s insurance exhibit.** Attach the exhibit or compliance email, and add the project name and any other parties to list.
- **Check it and send.** Review the endorsements and limits the certificate shows, then download it or send it to the GC’s compliance contact.

## Mistakes to avoid

- **Missing completed operations.** An additional insured endorsement for ongoing work alone may not meet a subcontract that asks for completed work too.
- **Waiver on only one policy.** Subcontracts often ask for a waiver on general liability, auto and workers’ comp. Check each one.
- **Leaving out the owner.** The project owner and other parties are often listed alongside the GC. Leave one out and the certificate gets rejected.
- **Wording the policy doesn’t support.** Typing endorsement language into the description box doesn’t put it on the policy, so the GC still has no coverage from it.

[Generate a COI in Spot](https://app.spot.insure)

## Coverage

- [General liability](https://spot.insure/insurance/general-liability)
- [Commercial auto](https://spot.insure/insurance/commercial-auto)
- [Workers’ compensation](https://spot.insure/insurance/workers-compensation)
- [Umbrella and excess liability](https://spot.insure/insurance/umbrella-excess)
- [Tools, equipment and inland marine](https://spot.insure/insurance/inland-marine)

## Common questions

### How do I get a certificate for a new GC?

Generate it in the Spot app from your policies, with the GC as certificate holder. If their subcontract needs endorsements you don’t have, message your Spot team first.

### Do I need a separate endorsement for each GC?

Not always. Some policies include blanket endorsements that apply where a written contract requires them. Your Spot team checks whether your wording reaches this GC or whether a scheduled endorsement is needed.

### Does the certificate make the GC an additional insured?

No. A certificate only shows what the policy already says. The additional insured endorsement does the work, and your Spot team requests it through your broker and insurer.

### Can I keep my contractor’s broker?

Yes. Your broker keeps placing the policies, Spot takes no commissions on premiums, and you generate certificates from those policies in Spot.

## More

- [Certificates of insurance](https://spot.insure/certificate-of-insurance)

## Agent and Developer Resources

- [Markdown page](https://spot.insure/certificate-of-insurance/general-contractor.md)
- [Developer resources](https://spot.insure/developers)
- [Public MCP server](https://spot.insure/mcp)
- [MCP server manifest](https://spot.insure/server.json)
- [OpenAPI description](https://spot.insure/openapi.json)
- [Public page index](https://spot.insure/llms.txt)