CG 24 04 is the ISO commercial general liability endorsement titled Waiver of Transfer of Rights of Recovery Against Others to Us. When a subcontractor’s insurer attaches it, the insurer gives up its right to recover a paid claim from the person or organization named on the endorsement, usually the general contractor and owner. On an ACORD 25 certificate, it shows up as a Y in the SUBR WVD column next to the general liability line.
Key takeaways
- CG 24 04 is scheduled. It only protects the parties listed on it, so the schedule has to name your company or reference the contract.
- CG 24 53 is the automatic version. It waives subrogation for anyone the insured is required to waive it for in a written contract.
- A Y in the SUBR WVD box is a claim by the broker, not proof. The endorsement itself is the proof.
- General liability waivers don’t cover workers comp or auto. Those need WC 00 03 13 and CA 04 44.
Most subcontract insurance exhibits ask for three things on the general liability policy: additional insured status, primary and noncontributory wording, and a waiver of subrogation. The first two are covered in our guides to CG 20 10, CG 20 37 and primary and noncontributory endorsements. This guide covers the third.
What Subrogation Is, and Why You Want It Waived
Subrogation is the insurer’s right to step into its insured’s shoes after paying a claim and recover that money from whoever caused the loss. Say a sub’s employee is hurt on site and the sub’s carrier pays. Without a waiver, that carrier can sue the general contractor to get its money back, arguing the GC controlled the site. The GC’s own policy then has to respond, the GC’s loss history takes the hit, and two contractors who agreed to work together end up on opposite sides of a lawsuit.
A waiver of subrogation closes that door. The sub’s insurer agrees in advance not to go after the parties named in the waiver. Together with the indemnity clause in the subcontract, it keeps each party’s losses on its own policy, which is the whole point of risk transfer in construction contracts.
What CG 24 04 Actually Says
The endorsement modifies the Transfer of Rights of Recovery Against Others to Us condition in the CGL policy. In plain terms, the insurer waives any right of recovery against the person or organization shown in the schedule for payments it makes for injury or damage arising from the insured’s ongoing operations, or from work done under a contract with that party and included in the products and completed operations hazard.
Three details matter when you review a certificate:
CG 24 04 vs. CG 24 53
ISO introduced CG 24 53, Waiver of Transfer of Rights of Recovery Against Others to Us (Automatic), so carriers could grant a blanket waiver without listing every party. It waives subrogation for anyone the insured has agreed in a written contract to waive it for, but only to the extent the contract requires and only if the contract was signed before the loss.
| Form | Who is covered | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| CG 24 04 | Only the names in the schedule | Your exact legal entity, or wording that references the contract, appears in the schedule |
| CG 24 53 | Anyone the insured must waive for under a written contract | Your subcontract actually requires the waiver and was signed before work started |
| Carrier blanket waiver | Varies by carrier | Read it. Some exclude completed operations or cap the waiver at the contract’s requirement. |
Many carriers now use their own blanket waiver forms instead of either ISO form. Those are fine, but they have to be read, because the wording isn’t standardized. This is where an AI review of the endorsement text saves real time compared with a person scanning a 40-page policy packet.
How to Verify a Waiver of Subrogation on a COI
- Find the SUBR WVD column. On the ACORD 25 it sits beside ADDL INSD in the coverages table. A Y on the general liability row means the broker is asserting a waiver exists. Our ACORD 25 walkthrough covers every column.
- Read the description of operations. The box should say something like “Waiver of subrogation applies in favor of certificate holder per CG 24 04,” or name the blanket form. If it says nothing, ask.
- Request the endorsement itself. The certificate grants no rights. Only the endorsement attached to the policy does. Ask the broker for the CG 24 04, CG 24 53 or carrier equivalent as a PDF. Most manual COI processes skip this step, and it’s the reason a COI is not the same thing as an endorsement.
- Match the schedule to your entity. For CG 24 04, the scheduled name must match the contracting entity, or the schedule must use blanket wording such as “any person or organization as required by written contract.”
- Check the other lines. A GL waiver does nothing for a workers comp claim. Confirm WC 00 03 13 on workers compensation and CA 04 44 on commercial auto if your subcontract requires them, which most do.
Why the workers comp waiver matters most: the most common subrogation scenario in construction is an injured employee. That claim is paid by the sub’s workers compensation carrier, not its GL carrier. If you only collected CG 24 04, the workers comp carrier still has full rights against you.
Stop checking the box. Start verifying the endorsement.
Billy reads every endorsement a sub sends, matches the schedule to your entity, flags missing waivers on GL, workers comp and auto, and syncs the result to Procore and your ERP so a noncompliant sub can’t be paid.
Common Mistakes We See in COI Files
- Accepting the Y alone. Brokers mark SUBR WVD as Y on request. It isn’t evidence.
- Wrong entity in the schedule. The GC’s parent company is listed, but the contracting party is a project-specific LLC.
- Waiver on GL only. Workers comp and auto waivers never collected.
- Waiver limited to ongoing operations. Some proprietary forms drop completed operations. For a GC with years of completed operations exposure, that gap matters.
- Contract signed after the loss. CG 24 53 only applies to contracts signed before the injury or damage. Get the signed subcontract before mobilization, not after.
Checking three waiver forms across GL, comp and auto for every sub on every job adds up fast. If you’re still doing it in a spreadsheet, see how the best construction compliance software handles endorsement review at scale.
Sample Subcontract Language
If your insurance exhibit doesn’t already require it, this wording is common and clear:
Have your broker or counsel review it against your prime contract. Owners often require the waiver to flow down to them too, which is another reason to prefer the blanket forms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CG 24 04 the same as a waiver of subrogation?
Yes. CG 24 04 is the ISO general liability endorsement that provides a waiver of subrogation for a scheduled person or organization. Other lines of coverage use different forms.
Does the additional insured endorsement include a waiver of subrogation?
No. CG 20 10 and CG 20 37 grant additional insured status. They don’t waive the insurer’s rights of recovery. You need both types of endorsement.
What does SUBR WVD mean on a certificate of insurance?
Subrogation waived. A Y in that column means the broker is stating that a waiver of subrogation applies on that policy line in favor of the certificate holder. It should be backed by the endorsement.
Can a waiver of subrogation be given without a contract?
Under CG 24 04, the waiver applies to work performed under a contract with the scheduled party. Under CG 24 53, a written contract requiring the waiver is a condition. In practice, get the subcontract signed first.
Does a waiver of subrogation increase the sub’s premium?
Usually there’s a small charge or none for a blanket GL waiver. Workers compensation waivers are more often priced, which is why subs sometimes push back on that one.
