Certificate holder
The recipient identified on a certificate of insurance. A certificate holder receives evidence of coverage; that label alone does not make the recipient an insured under the policy.
A certificate holder is the person or organization to which a certificate of insurance is addressed. The role is administrative: it tells the issuer where to send evidence of coverage. It does not, by itself, give the holder coverage, defense rights, or a right to payment under the policy.
New York’s Department of Financial Services expressly concludes that “certificate holder” is not synonymous with “additional insured.” The distinction matters most when a contract demands both. A counterparty may need to receive a certificate and separately be added to the policy through an endorsement.
Use the legal entity name and address required by the contract for the certificate holder. Then separately verify the policy status the contract requires. The sister library has the mechanics of additional insured versus certificate holder.
Sources
- Primary source: New York Department of Financial Services — Certificate of insurance opinion — State insurance-department opinion concluding that certificate holder and additional insured are not synonymous.