Getting on a major fiber prime contractor's approved vendor list in Texas isn't just about showing up with tools and a crew. Before you touch a single trench or splice a single fiber, you need to hand over a certificate of insurance that passes their compliance team's review. That review is more rigorous than most contractors expect. Prime contractors — especially large ones operating across multiple states — have detailed onboarding packets that spell out exactly what they need to see on your COI, which endorsements are required, and which policy exclusions will get your application rejected outright. This article breaks down what those requirements actually look like, based on a real Texas telecom prime contractor's supplier onboarding documentation.
Required Coverage & Limits
The first thing a compliance team checks is whether your limits meet minimums. For major Texas telecom prime contractors, the baseline requirements are higher than a standard small contractor policy and include five separate lines of coverage. Here's what's required:
| Coverage Type | Required Limits | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial General Liability | $1M / $2M | $1M each occurrence / $2M general aggregate. Per-project aggregate required. |
| Automobile Liability | $1M CSL | Combined single limit. Must cover all owned, hired, and non-owned autos. |
| Umbrella / Excess Liability | $3M / $3M | $3M each occurrence / $3M aggregate. Must be follow-form and extend over GL, Auto, and WC. |
| Workers' Compensation | Statutory | Statutory limits per state law. Required regardless of crew size. |
| Employers' Liability | $1M / $1M / $1M | $1M each accident / $1M disease per employee / $1M disease policy limit. |
| Professional Liability | $1M per claim | If required by the specific contract. Applies to design-build or engineering-adjacent scopes. |
| Railroad Protective Liability | As required | Required for work near railroad right-of-way. No stated minimum — per contract. |
A common rejection reason is an umbrella policy that doesn't extend over all underlying lines. The umbrella must follow form over General Liability, Automobile Liability, and Workers' Compensation — and must pick up where those primary limits leave off. An umbrella that sits only over GL is not acceptable.
Additional Insured Endorsements
The COI alone is not enough. Prime contractors require actual copies of the Additional Insured endorsements added to your policy — not just a statement on the certificate. Two sets of endorsements are acceptable, and you need both the ongoing operations version and the completed operations version.
When using scheduled endorsements (CG 20 10 / CG 20 37), the legal entity name on the endorsement must exactly match the contract. Large prime contractors like Dycom subsidiaries operate under multiple legal entities. Using a trade name instead of the legal entity name is one of the most common rejection reasons. Always get the exact legal name from your subcontract agreement before requesting the endorsement from your broker.
The Additional Insured requirement extends beyond just the prime. The COI description of operations must list the prime contractor, its parent company and all subsidiaries, their officers, directors, stockholders, employees, agents, and the project owner — all as Additional Insureds on both the GL and Auto policies.
Primary & Noncontributory
Your General Liability, Automobile Liability, and Umbrella/Excess policies must all be endorsed as primary and noncontributory in favor of the Additional Insureds. This is a critical requirement that many standard policies don't include by default.
What "Primary" Means
Your policy responds first when a claim arises — before the prime contractor's own insurance kicks in. Without this, both insurers argue over who pays first, which creates delays and disputes.
What "Noncontributory" Means
Your policy does not seek contribution from the prime's policy, even if the prime is also named as an insured. The full burden of a covered claim falls on your policy up to your limits.
If your policy doesn't have a primary and noncontributory endorsement, your insurer can argue that the prime's policy should share the cost of a claim. Prime contractors won't accept this — they require your policy to be the one that pays. Ask your broker specifically whether your GL and Auto policies include this endorsement. Many standard contractor policies do not include it automatically.
Waiver of Subrogation
All four major lines — General Liability, Automobile Liability, Workers' Compensation, and Professional Liability — must include a Waiver of Subrogation in favor of the Additional Insureds. A blanket waiver endorsement is the cleanest way to satisfy this.
Subrogation is the right your insurer has to sue a third party after paying a claim. For example, if one of your employees is injured on a Dycom subsidiary job site and your workers' comp insurer pays the claim, they normally could sue Dycom to recover those costs. A Waiver of Subrogation eliminates that right. Prime contractors require it to protect themselves from being pursued by your insurance company after a loss.
Most contractors remember to get the WOS on GL and Auto. The WC waiver is frequently overlooked. Make sure your workers' compensation policy specifically includes the blanket waiver of subrogation endorsement — and that it's shown on the COI in the description of operations or in the WC section.
Additionally, all policies must provide 30 days' written notice of cancellation to each subsidiary the contractor is working with. This means if you cancel or non-renew your policy mid-contract, the prime and all relevant subsidiaries get 30 days' advance notice — giving them time to require a replacement certificate before coverage lapses.
The 16 Unacceptable GL Exclusions
This is where most subcontractors get surprised. It's not enough to have the right limits and endorsements — your policy also can't contain certain exclusions. In the current insurance market, carriers are increasingly restricting contractor policies with endorsements that eliminate or limit coverage in ways that prime contractors won't accept. If any of the following exclusions appear in your Schedule of Forms and Endorsements, your COI could be rejected based on the job — and it won't be approved until the exclusion is removed, negotiated out, or you switch carriers.
Eliminates coverage for claims where an injured employee sues a third party (like the prime) who then seeks indemnification from you. Common in Texas due to the state's non-subscriber workers' comp environment. Extremely problematic for any Texas subcontractor.
Eliminates all auto-related claims from the GL policy. Since fiber work involves heavy vehicle use on job sites, this exclusion creates significant gaps between GL and Auto coverage — especially for loading/unloading exposures.
If written broadly, this exclusion can eliminate coverage for bodily injury or property damage arising from a contract dispute — which is exactly the scenario that triggers most subcontractor claims.
Limits or conditions coverage for claims arising from subcontractors or independent contractors working under you. Since most fiber contractors use crews of helpers or sub-crews, this exclusion creates broad gaps.
Eliminates coverage for work performed by any contractor or subcontractor. This is becoming more common as carriers try to limit their exposure on construction accounts. If you use any sub-crews at all, this exclusion guts your coverage.
Restricts your policy's contractual liability coverage, which is what protects you when you agree to indemnify the prime in your subcontract. If this exclusion is on your policy, your indemnity obligations in the subcontract may be uninsured.
Prevents one insured from suing another insured under the same policy. If written broadly, it can prevent the prime (as an AI on your policy) from making a claim against your coverage — defeating the entire purpose of the AI requirement.
Eliminates the standard "your work" coverage exception for subcontracted work. Without the exception, damage to fiber runs, conduit, or infrastructure installed by your sub-crews is excluded — even after project completion.
Eliminates coverage for claims involving soil movement or settling. Underground OSP fiber work involves significant excavation — this exclusion creates a major gap for boring, trenching, and directional drilling operations.
Eliminates the three most common underground construction exposures. For fiber contractors doing any directional drilling, boring, or underground conduit work, the XCU exclusion can eliminate coverage for a large percentage of your actual job site exposures.
Eliminates coverage for bodily injury to independent contractors working on your site. If you use 1099 workers or crews classified as independent contractors — which is common in fiber installation — this exclusion leaves those injury claims uncovered.
Similar to the above, but extends to temporary or casual laborers. Fiber construction crews often include day laborers or temp workers. This exclusion eliminates coverage for their injury claims.
Restricts your GL coverage to a specific location. Fiber subcontractors work across multiple counties, cities, and job sites — a premises-specific policy creates coverage gaps everywhere except the listed address.
Eliminates coverage for bodily injury or property damage arising from work completed before the policy's inception date. If you're switching carriers mid-project or renewing after a job is done, this exclusion can leave prior work uninsured.
Conditions coverage on you having called 811 and located all underground utilities before digging. While calling 811 is required by law anyway, this exclusion makes coverage void if 811 wasn't called — even if the utility hit was in an unmarked or inaccurately marked area.
Eliminates coverage if you perform work without the required license. Since licensing requirements for fiber work vary by state and municipality — and some fiber work sits in gray areas — this exclusion can be triggered in unexpected situations.
Carrier underwriting has tightened significantly since 2022. Many standard contractor GL policies now include one or more of these exclusions without the contractor ever realizing it. The only way to know if your policy has them is to review your Schedule of Forms and Endorsements — the document that lists every form number attached to your policy. If you've never read yours, there's a good chance your policy has at least one exclusion on this list.
Required Documentation Beyond the COI
Most subcontractors think the COI is the only document they need to submit. Major prime contractors require a full documentation package — the COI is just the starting point.
- Certificate of Insurance (ACORD 25) — The standard COI showing all coverage lines, limits, policy numbers, effective dates, and the description of operations with AI language, WOS, and primary/noncontributory notation.
- GL Schedule of Forms and Endorsements — The complete list of every form number on your GL policy. The compliance team uses this to verify that unacceptable exclusions are not present and that required endorsements are attached.
- Copies of the AI Endorsements — Actual copies of either CG 20 38 + CG 20 40 or CG 20 10 + CG 20 37. A COI that says "Additional Insured" is not sufficient — they want the endorsement forms themselves.
- PEO Workers' Comp Policy (if applicable) — If you use a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) for payroll and workers' comp, you must provide a full copy of the PEO's workers' compensation policy — not just a certificate. The compliance team needs to verify the PEO policy's terms and that your employees are covered.
Getting all four documents together before starting the onboarding process saves significant back-and-forth time. Most compliance teams will reject incomplete submissions outright and require a full resubmission.
What To Do If Your Policy Doesn't Qualify
If your current policy has one or more of the unacceptable exclusions, you have three options:
- Negotiate the exclusion out of your current policy. Your broker can go back to your current carrier and request that a specific exclusion be removed. Some carriers will agree — sometimes for no additional premium, sometimes for a modest additional charge. This is the fastest path if your current carrier is willing.
- Pay additional premium to buy back the exclusion. Some exclusions can be bought back with a specific endorsement. For example, the XCU exclusion can sometimes be removed with an underground hazards buy-back. Your broker should know what's available for your carrier.
- Switch carriers. If your current carrier won't budge, the only option is to move to a carrier that writes contractor GL without the problematic exclusions. Specialty contractor markets — particularly those focused on telecom, utility, and OSP work — typically write cleaner policies. This takes more time but gets you the right coverage.
The most important first step is knowing what's in your current policy. Pull your GL Schedule of Forms and Endorsements and check each form number against the list of unacceptable exclusions above. If you don't know how to read a Schedule of Forms, a broker who specializes in fiber contractor coverage can review it for you.
The biggest mistake subcontractors make is trying to fix insurance issues after they've already been awarded a subcontract. Removing exclusions, switching carriers, and getting properly endorsed policies takes time — sometimes weeks. Get your policy reviewed now, before you're in the middle of an onboarding process with a 5-day compliance deadline.
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