Insurance requirements in commercial agreements and
corresponding additional insured provisions in insurance policies
are important tools to manage and transfer risks. However, far too
often those efforts are thwarted by inattention and, in some cases,
sloppiness. As exemplified by the disastrous outcome for the
contracting parties in Cincinnati Insurance Company v. Vita
Food Products, Inc., No. 13 C 05181 (E.D. Ill. January 30,
2015), there are many pitfalls to successfully transfer risk and
secure additional insured coverage. In Vita Foods,
the insurer (Cincinnati) argued that its policy required Vita to
have received a certificate of insurance prior to a loss because
the contract between the parties (Vita and Painters) was oral. It
is unsurprising that parties operating on the basis of an oral
agreement failed to satisfy this condition. The court agreed with
Cincinnati, finding that the failure to obtain the certificate
prior to the loss was fatal to the
