Your GC Has CG 22 94 on Their Policy: What That Means for You as a Geotechnical Subcontractor
By Justin MacKenzie | Ground Improvement & Geotechnical Contractor Insurance
The following is general guidance from an insurance perspective only. For legal or contract-specific advice, consult qualified professionals in those fields.
Key Takeaways
Broad indemnification language in your subcontract means the GC can pursue your policy for completed operations claims arising from your work, regardless of whether their own carrier responds. CG 22 94 removes that carrier response entirely, making the pursuit faster and more aggressive.
You will be named in completed operations claims arising from your work regardless of what your GC's policy says. CG 22 94 does not change whether you get named, it changes the intensity and speed of the financial pressure that follows.
Without CG 22 94, the GC's carrier manages the claim process and moderates the allocation between parties. With CG 22 94, the GC is uninsured from day one and motivated to pursue you under the indemnification clause immediately.
The right response is to structure your own program as if the GC's coverage does not exist, because broad indemnification creates that exposure whether or not CG 22 94 is in the picture.
CG 22 94 is typically discussed as a general contractor problem, and it is. When a GC's policy includes this endorsement, their coverage for property damage caused by subcontractors' completed work is removed. Most of the conversation about this endorsement focuses on what GCs can do to fix it.
But there is a side of CG 22 94 that almost no one discusses, what it means for the specialty subcontractor whose work triggered the claim in the first place. To be clear: you will be named in completed operations claims arising from your work regardless of what your GC's policy says. CG 22 94 does not change whether you get named. What it changes is the intensity and speed of the financial pressure that follows, and understanding that dynamic is worth your attention as a geotechnical contractor performing high-exposure specialty work.
This article explains how broad indemnification language creates exposure for geotechnical subcontractors in any subcontract, how CG 22 94 accelerates and intensifies that exposure when the GC carries it, and what a well-structured insurance program needs to look like given both realities.
A Quick Recap of What CG 22 94 Does
Standard CGL policies include an exception to the your-work exclusion that preserves coverage for property damage caused by a subcontractor's work. CG 22 94 removes that exception. When a GC has this endorsement on their policy and a completed operations claim arises from a subcontractor's work, the GC's carrier denies coverage. The GC is left without insurance protection for that claim.
For a deeper explanation of CG 22 94 from the GC's perspective, see our full article on this endorsement in the General Insurance Topics section of this site. This article focuses specifically on what it means for you as the geotechnical subcontractor on the project.
The Real Exposure: Indemnification Language Comes First
Before getting to CG 22 94 specifically, it is important to understand the exposure that exists in any geotechnical subcontract regardless of what endorsements the GC carries. Broad indemnification language, the kind that requires you to hold the GC harmless for any claim arising from your work, regardless of comparative fault, means the GC can pursue your policy directly for their uninsured losses whether their carrier paid in full, paid in part, or never entered the picture at all.
Even when a GC has full coverage without CG 22 94, their carrier may pay a claim and then pursue you through subrogation based on the indemnification clause in your subcontract. The destination is often the same, your policy responding to more than just your proportionate share of a claim. CG 22 94 changes the route and the speed of arrival, not the final destination.
This means the right starting point for any geotechnical subcontractor is to understand what their subcontract indemnification language actually requires, and to structure their insurance program accordingly, regardless of whether they know anything about their GC's endorsement schedule.
How CG 22 94 Changes the Claim Dynamics
With that foundation in place, here is specifically how CG 22 94 changes the dynamics when a completed operations claim arises from your work.
A foundation settlement surfaces, a slope moves, a vibration damage claim arrives from a neighboring property months after project completion. The property owner or project owner names both you and the GC in the claim, as is standard in construction litigation. Both parties notify their respective carriers.
Without CG 22 94 on the GC's policy, their carrier steps in, defends the GC, and the carriers for each party negotiate allocation between themselves. Your carrier handles your defense and pays your proportionate share. The GC's carrier handles theirs. There is a structured process with carriers managing the claim on both sides.
With CG 22 94 on the GC's policy, their carrier denies coverage from day one. The GC is now uninsured for their share of the claim, funding their own defense, and looking at a judgment or settlement that their policy will not cover. The indemnification clause in your subcontract becomes their immediate and primary recovery mechanism. There is no carrier on the GC's side managing the process or moderating the demands, just a GC with a financial problem and a contract that points at you.
That is the specific dynamic CG 22 94 creates. It does not change whether you are in the litigation. It removes the buffer between the GC's financial exposure and your policy, making the indemnification claim faster, more aggressive, and more difficult to manage through normal carrier-to-carrier negotiation.
What This Means for Your Completed Operations Coverage
Completed operations coverage for geotechnical contractors is already a significant exposure in its own right. Foundation systems, slope stabilization work, and ground improvement installations carry long-tail liability that can surface years after project completion. We have covered this in detail in the specialty articles on this site.
The indemnification and CG 22 94 dynamic adds another dimension. When you are working under a broad indemnification clause, which describes most geotechnical subcontracts, your completed operations coverage may need to respond not just to your proportionate share of a claim but to the full scope of what the GC cannot recover from their own policy. That is a larger obligation than most geotechnical subcontractors factor into their limit decisions.
Consider a scenario where a foundation settlement claim arises from a combination of your pile installation work and the GC's site preparation activities. With broad indemnification and a GC who has full coverage, their carrier pays the claim and may pursue you through subrogation for your share. With broad indemnification and a GC who has CG 22 94, the GC's carrier never enters the picture, the GC pursues you directly from day one for the full claim, without any carrier standing between you. The destination is the same. The path is more direct and the pressure arrives sooner.
The practical takeaway from an insurance standpoint is that geotechnical subcontractors doing meaningful volume of work under GC-managed subcontracts should be sizing their completed operations limits based on full potential claim exposure, not on an assumed division with the GC's coverage that may not materialize.
Not sure if your completed operations limits are sized for this scenario?
Get a no-obligation review of your current program. justin@fstwest.com
Can You Find Out if Your GC Has CG 22 94 Before You Sign?
In theory yes, you can ask. In practice most GCs will not volunteer this information and may not even know it is on their policy. CG 22 94 is added by carriers, often at renewal, without the GC fully understanding what has been removed. Asking a GC whether their policy has a specific endorsement number before you sign a subcontract is an unusual request that may be met with confusion rather than a clear answer.
The more practical approach from an insurance standpoint is to structure your own program as if the GC does not have adequate coverage, because you cannot reliably verify that they do. This is sound practice regardless of CG 22 94. Broad indemnification language means your program needs to stand on its own whether or not the GC's carrier is in the picture. Set your completed operations limits based on the full potential claim exposure from your work, and review the indemnification language in your subcontracts carefully before you sign.
Some geotechnical subcontractors include a provision in their subcontract negotiations requiring the GC to represent that their policy does not include CG 22 94 or requiring them to maintain the subcontractor carve-back as a condition of the subcontract. Whether that negotiation is feasible depends on the relative bargaining positions of the parties, on large public infrastructure projects a specialty sub has limited ability to impose conditions on a GC. On smaller commercial projects where the geotechnical contractor has more leverage, it is worth attempting.
The Additional Insured Connection
Additional insured requirements on your completed operations coverage are substantive commitments in any subcontract, not just when the GC carries CG 22 94. Most geotechnical subcontracts require the specialty contractor to name the GC as an additional insured on their CGL policy including completed operations. This gives the GC direct access to your policy for claims arising from your work.
When the GC has CG 22 94 on their own policy, that additional insured requirement becomes the primary coverage mechanism rather than a secondary one. Your completed operations coverage, with the GC named as additional insured, is not backing up the GC's own coverage. It is the only coverage in the picture for the GC's exposure from your work.
From an insurance standpoint, the additional insured endorsement on your policy is not a certificate requirement to satisfy and move on from. It is a substantive coverage commitment. The limits on your completed operations coverage and the scope of your additional insured endorsement should both be evaluated with this in mind, whether or not CG 22 94 is in your GC's policy.
What a Well-Structured Program Looks Like
From an insurance standpoint, a geotechnical subcontractor whose work regularly appears on GC-managed projects should consider the following when structuring their program. These recommendations apply whether or not the GC carries CG 22 94, because broad indemnification language creates the exposure regardless.
Completed operations limits sized for full claim exposure. Do not size limits based on an assumed division with the GC's coverage. Set limits that can handle the full scope of a completed operations claim arising from your work, because broad indemnification and CG 22 94 together can make your policy the only response mechanism in the litigation.
Separate completed operations aggregate. A separate completed operations aggregate protects your ongoing operations coverage from being eroded by completed operations claims. Given the potential for elevated completed operations exposure under broad indemnification clauses, a shared aggregate is a structural weakness worth addressing.
Review of subcontract indemnification scope before signing. Understand what your subcontract is asking your policy to cover before you agree to it. Broad indemnification that covers all claims arising from your work regardless of comparative fault creates the widest exposure. Narrower language limited to your own fault creates a more manageable obligation. Your broker can tell you what your policy is designed to cover so you can evaluate the alignment before you sign.
Umbrella or excess limits that extend over completed operations. Confirm that your umbrella or excess policy extends over your completed operations coverage without sublimits or exclusions that limit the excess coverage available for exactly these claims. Some umbrella policies have gaps in completed operations coverage that are not apparent until a claim arrives.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out if my GC has CG 22 94 on their policy?
You can ask your GC to provide a copy of their endorsement schedule. Most will be reluctant to share their full policy but some will share the endorsement list. The more practical approach from an insurance standpoint is to structure your own program conservatively regardless, because broad indemnification language creates exposure whether or not CG 22 94 is present, and you typically cannot verify the GC's coverage before a claim occurs.
My GC says they have completed operations coverage. Does that mean they do not have CG 22 94?
Not necessarily. CG 22 94 does not eliminate completed operations coverage entirely, it eliminates it specifically for claims arising from subcontractor work. A GC can have a completed operations aggregate limit on their policy and still have CG 22 94 removing coverage for the portion that would otherwise respond to your work. The GC may genuinely believe they have coverage without understanding what the endorsement has carved out.
If the GC pursues me under the indemnification clause does my CGL respond?
From an insurance standpoint it depends on how the claim is framed and the specific language of both the indemnification clause and your CGL policy. Claims arising from your own negligence in performing the work are generally covered under your CGL. Claims framed purely as contractual indemnification obligations, separate from any finding of your negligence, may encounter the contractual liability exclusion in your CGL. This is a nuanced coverage question that your broker and carrier should evaluate on the specific facts when a claim arises.
Does broad indemnification language create this exposure even without CG 22 94?
Yes, and this is an important point this article is specifically designed to make. Broad indemnification creates exposure for geotechnical subcontractors regardless of what the GC's endorsement schedule looks like. If your subcontract requires you to hold the GC harmless for any claim arising from your work, the GC can pursue you whether their carrier paid the claim or not. CG 22 94 removes the moderating influence of the GC's carrier from the process, but the indemnification obligation exists independently of that endorsement.
Should I try to negotiate the indemnification language in my subcontracts?
From an insurance standpoint, narrowing broad indemnification language to limit your obligation to claims arising from your own fault, rather than any claim arising from your work regardless of who contributed, reduces the mismatch between your contractual obligations and your insurance coverage. Whether that negotiation is feasible is a business and legal question rather than an insurance question. What your broker can tell you is what your policy is designed to cover, so you can evaluate how well the subcontract language aligns with that coverage before you sign.
About the Author
Justin MacKenzie is a Commercial Lines Producer at First West Insurance, licensed in all 50 states, specializing in insurance and surety programs for ground improvement and geotechnical contractors. Before moving into insurance, Justin spent over two decades in commercial real estate development and construction, working across more than a million square feet of projects with Fortune 500 companies, private equity firms, and national retailers — giving him a firsthand understanding of how construction contracts, subcontractor relationships, and risk transfer obligations actually work in practice. justin@fstwest.com
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional insurance or legal advice. Coverage availability, terms, and conditions vary by insurer, jurisdiction, and individual risk characteristics. The enforceability of contractual indemnification provisions is a legal question that varies significantly by state. Consult a licensed insurance professional and qualified legal counsel for guidance specific to your situation.
