Glossary
Primary and noncontributory, defined
Two words in an additional insured endorsement that settle whose policy pays first when two carriers both cover the same loss. Primary means your policy responds before the other party's; noncontributory means your carrier cannot ask theirs to share the cost.
In practice
The wording shows up in construction subcontracts and commercial leases. A general contractor or landlord adds you as an additional insured and requires your general liability policy to sit primary and noncontributory, so a claim arising from your work lands on your policy and your limits, not theirs. The endorsement must say so in the language the contract uses; a certificate of insurance that mentions it without the matching endorsement creates no obligation. Carriers price it in, and some restrict it to written contracts signed before the work begins.
A worked example
Suppose a plumbing subcontractor's employee floods a client's floor during a remodel, and the client sues both the plumber and the general contractor. The subcontract required primary and noncontributory status. The plumber's general liability carrier pays the $30,000 settlement and the defense within its $1,000,000 limit, and the general contractor's carrier is never asked to contribute. Round figures, invented for illustration.
Applies to: General Liability InsuranceContractors Insurance