Do not sign and hope, and do not walk away before you have a number: price the gap, then decide. Most requirements are met by raising a limit or adding an excess layer, and the cost is usually smaller than businesses assume. Some requirements cannot be met by anyone in your class, and those need renegotiating rather than buying. Who this is for: anyone holding a contract they cannot currently satisfy.
The short version
- Signing an insurance requirement you cannot meet puts you in breach from day one.
- An excess layer is usually cheaper than raising the primary policy.
- Additional insured status on professional liability is the requirement most often impossible.
- Requirements copied from construction templates frequently do not fit service businesses.
- Ask for the cost before deciding the contract is not worth it.
The three kinds of gap
| Gap | Fix | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| Limit too low | Raise the primary or add an excess layer | Excess is often 50 to 70 percent of the layer below |
| Coverage missing entirely | Add the policy | Varies, from a few hundred to several thousand |
| Endorsement not available in your class | Renegotiate the clause | Nothing but a conversation |
What is usually negotiable
- Additional insured on professional liability. Most carriers will not do it. Asking for the requirement to apply to general liability and auto is standard and usually accepted.
- Primary and non contributory on professional liability. Same answer, same fix.
- Umbrella limits far above the contract size. Sometimes tied to contract value rather than a template figure, if you ask.
- Admitted carrier requirements in commercial contracts. Frequently negotiable where your carrier is highly rated but non admitted.
- Waivers of subrogation on every line. Waivers on cyber policies are commonly declined by carriers, and clients usually accept that.
What is usually not negotiable
Public sector requirements set by ordinance or risk management policy, lender requirements written into loan documents, and anything a client's own insurer imposes on them. In those cases the answer is to price the coverage and decide, not to argue.
How Do I Get raise it with the client?
- Get your broker's written explanation of what the market will and will not issue.
- Propose a specific alternative rather than simply objecting.
- Offer something in exchange, such as a higher general liability limit, which is cheap.
- Raise it during negotiation, because after signature you are asking for an amendment rather than a term.
- Get any agreed change in writing and attach it to the contract file.
A client asking for something the market does not sell usually copied it from another template and will accept a sensible alternative. Procurement teams see this weekly.
What this looks like in practice
Illustrative example. It is typical of what we see and is not a promise of how any specific situation would be handled.
The setup: A services firm is offered a contract requiring $5M in professional liability and additional insured status on that policy.
What went wrong: The firm carried $1M and assumed the contract was out of reach, and nearly declined the work.
What it cost: An excess layer taking the limit to $5M cost roughly $4,200 a year, and the client dropped the additional insured requirement on the professional line when the broker explained the market position.
The fix: Get the number before you decide. The requirement looked disqualifying and was actually a line item on a contract many times its size.
Frequently asked questions
Q: What should I do if a contract requires more insurance than I have?
Price the gap with your broker first. Raising a limit or adding an excess layer is often inexpensive, and knowing the number turns a blocker into a business decision.
Q: Is it cheaper to raise my primary limit or buy excess?
Usually excess. Each additional layer typically costs less than the one below it, so a $5M requirement is normally met with an excess policy rather than a much larger primary.
Q: What if the requirement is impossible for my industry?
Ask your broker to confirm in writing, then propose an alternative to the client. Additional insured status on professional liability is the classic example, and clients routinely accept narrowing it.
Q: Can I sign and sort it out later?
No. You would be in breach from the first day, and a client can withhold payment, stop work, or argue in a claim that you owe them what the insurance would have paid.
Q: Will my client really renegotiate?
Often, yes. Most demanding clauses are copied from templates written for other industries, and procurement teams see these requests regularly.
Q: How long does it take to raise limits?
A day or two for an endorsement on an existing policy, and several days to two weeks for a new excess layer that has to be underwritten and bound.
How Morrow helps with certificates of insurance
Morrow is a licensed independent commercial insurance brokerage that specializes in certificates of insurance and the endorsements behind them. Pricing and renegotiating requirements your current policy cannot meet is the kind of thing we handle every day, for clients across construction, trades, professional services, trucking, real estate, and hospitality, so we know what a compliance reviewer will reject before you send it.
- We issue certificates the same day you ask, and usually within the hour.
- We read the contract first, so the endorsements the certificate reports actually exist on your policy.
- We push back on requirements the market will not issue, and give you language your client will accept.
- We keep a record of who was issued what, so renewals go out before anyone chases you.
Get in touch and we will see how we can help. Send us the contract or the certificate request and we will tell you what your current policy can support and what needs to change. Start at morrowinsure.com or reach the team through the contact options on that page.
One more thing. This article is general information and is not legal advice or a statement of coverage. Certificates report what a policy says, and the policy wording controls in every case. Forms and requirements vary by carrier, by state, and by contract, so have a licensed advisor review your own policy and your own contract before relying on any of it.
Last updated: Reviewed by the Morrow commercial lines team. Last updated August 2026.