What is the difference between ongoing and completed operations additional insured?

ISO form CG 20 10 adds the scheduled party as an additional insured for injury or damage "caused, in whole or in part, by" your acts or omissions, or those acting on your behalf, "in the performance of your ongoing operations for the additional insured(s)." CG 20 38 does the same thing on a blanket basis for anyone you agreed in writing to add.

Both forms then exclude bodily injury or property damage occurring after:

• all work on the project (other than service, maintenance or repairs) has been completed, or
• the part of your work that caused the injury "has been put to its intended use" by anyone other than another contractor working on the same project.

CG 20 38 also says plainly that a party's status as an additional insured "ends when your operations for the person or organization... are completed."

CG 20 37 covers the additional insured for injury or damage "caused, in whole or in part, by 'your work'" performed for that party and "included in the 'products-completed operations hazard.'"

The standard GL form (CG 00 01) defines when work is completed. Work is deemed completed at the earliest of: when all the work called for in your contract is done; when all work at one job site is done, if the contract covers several sites; or when that part of the work has been put to its intended use by someone other than another contractor on the same project. Work that may still need service, maintenance, correction or repair "but which is otherwise complete, will be treated as completed."

For oilfield crews, that line comes quickly. A flowline tie-in, a wellhead repair or a tank battery hookup is "completed" once it is put to use. A failure the next week is a completed operations claim.

Here is how the three standard forms divide the job.

All three 12 19 edition forms carry the same two limits:

• The coverage applies "only... to the extent permitted by law," and if a contract requires it, it "will not be broader than that which you are required by the contract or agreement to provide."
• If a contract requires the coverage, the most the insurer pays for the additional insured is the lesser of the amount the contract requires or the limits available on your policy.

So if your MSA only asks for ongoing operations coverage, or asks for lower limits than you carry, the additional insured protection can shrink to match. In Texas, that interaction also runs through the anti-indemnity act, which is why the indemnity and insurance sections should be read together. See indemnity vs additional insured.

• Is there a completed operations endorsement at all? If your certificate shows a blanket additional insured endorsement, find the form number and confirm it reaches completed operations. CG 20 38, the standard ISO blanket form, is ongoing only.
• How long does the MSA want completed operations to last? If the MSA requires completed operations coverage to continue after the work ends, that is a renewal issue as much as an endorsement issue.
• Is the products-completed operations aggregate adequate? On the standard form it is a separate aggregate limit.
• Does the umbrella follow? If the MSA requires additional insured status on the umbrella, confirm the umbrella recognizes both. See blanket additional insured endorsements.