What property managers and HOAs require from vendors and tenants

What the property manager's agreement actually requires

QUICK ANSWER

Property managers and HOAs require vendors to carry general liability naming the owner, the association and the management company as additional insured, a waiver of subrogation, workers' compensation, and commercial auto, with an umbrella for larger portfolios. Managers run certificate compliance across many properties, so the same vendor is asked for the same certificate at each one.

Reviewed by Michael LaBarbera, Licensed property & casualty agent, Provident Financial Group · Reviewed Oct 11, 2026 Updated Oct 14, 2026

Typical requirements and how to check them
Requirement	What they usually ask for	How to check what you have
General liability	Per-occurrence and aggregate at the management company's standard, the owner, association and manager as additional insured, primary and non-contributory	Dec page limits; blanket additional insured by written contract; primary and non-contributory form.
Waiver of subrogation	On general liability, auto and workers' compensation in favour of owner and manager	Blanket waiver endorsements in each policy's forms list.
Workers' compensation and employers' liability	Statutory, with employers' liability limits in the agreement	Information page Part Two limits; states listed cover every property's location.
Commercial auto	Combined single limit for vehicles on the property; hired and non-owned for staff cars	Auto dec page; hired and non-owned endorsement.
Umbrella or excess	Required by institutional owners and larger management companies	Umbrella dec page scheduling the underlying policies.
Snow and ice (seasonal vendors)	Explicit snow and ice removal coverage for landscapers and plow contractors	No snow and ice exclusion in the GL forms; coverage confirmed in writing.
Crime or fidelity (vendors with access)	Third-party theft coverage for cleaners, concierge and maintenance vendors with keys	Crime policy with client-property coverage or a janitorial bond.
Pollution (applicators and mechanical vendors)	Required for pest control, landscaping applications and HVAC work on some portfolios	Pollution policy or endorsement naming owner and manager.

Requirement

What they usually ask for

How to check what you have

General liability

Per-occurrence and aggregate at the management company's standard, the owner, association and manager as additional insured, primary and non-contributory

Dec page limits; blanket additional insured by written contract; primary and non-contributory form.

Waiver of subrogation

On general liability, auto and workers' compensation in favour of owner and manager

Blanket waiver endorsements in each policy's forms list.

Workers' compensation and employers' liability

Statutory, with employers' liability limits in the agreement

Information page Part Two limits; states listed cover every property's location.

Commercial auto

Combined single limit for vehicles on the property; hired and non-owned for staff cars

Auto dec page; hired and non-owned endorsement.

Umbrella or excess

Required by institutional owners and larger management companies

Umbrella dec page scheduling the underlying policies.

Snow and ice (seasonal vendors)

Explicit snow and ice removal coverage for landscapers and plow contractors

No snow and ice exclusion in the GL forms; coverage confirmed in writing.

Crime or fidelity (vendors with access)

Third-party theft coverage for cleaners, concierge and maintenance vendors with keys

Crime policy with client-property coverage or a janitorial bond.

Pollution (applicators and mechanical vendors)

Required for pest control, landscaping applications and HVAC work on some portfolios

Pollution policy or endorsement naming owner and manager.

Where the requirement hides

Management companies use a standard vendor agreement with an insurance exhibit, applied across their portfolio, and institutional owners layer their own requirements on top. The strictest owner in the portfolio often sets the standard for every property the manager runs.

One vendor, many files

The manager's compliance team tracks certificates per property. The same landscaper, cleaner or electrician is asked for the same certificate, with a different owner entity named, for each building. Blanket additional insured and waiver forms make that possible; scheduled forms make it a monthly chore.

Seasonal vendors

Snow and ice is the requirement that catches landscapers: many landscaping liability policies exclude it, and managers verify it specifically before winter. Applicators of pesticides and herbicides are asked for pollution coverage on the same portfolios.

What to send the manager

A certificate naming the owner entity, the association and the management company as additional insured on general liability, with waiver of subrogation on liability and workers' compensation, auto, umbrella where required, crime for access vendors and snow and ice or pollution where the work calls for it. Share the live link into each property's file so renewals never generate a round of requests.

Questions people actually ask

Why are three parties named on every certificate?

The owner holds the asset, the association or board governs it, and the management company runs it. A claim at the property can name any of them. Blanket additional insured by written contract covers all three without a scheduled form for each.

The manager wants a new certificate for every building. Is that normal?

Yes. Each property has its own vendor file and often its own owner entity. A live certificate link can be shared to each file once, and it stays current for all of them.

What is the manager checking in my workers' compensation certificate?

That the policy exists, that employers' liability limits meet the agreement, that the waiver of subrogation is in place, and that the states listed include the property's location.

My cleaning crew works several properties. Do I need crime coverage?

Most management agreements require it for vendors with keys or access. It covers theft of the owner's or residents' property by your staff, which general liability does not.