CG 22 79: Exclusion, Contractors, Professional Liability

Legal purpose and coverage scope

CG 22 79 applies to bodily injury, property damage and personal and advertising injury arising out of the rendering of, or failure to render, any professional services by the named insured or on its behalf, but only with respect to two activities: providing engineering, architectural or surveying services to others in the insured's capacity as an engineer, architect or surveyor; and providing, or hiring independent professionals to provide, engineering, architectural or surveying services in connection with construction work the insured performs.

Professional services include preparing, approving or failing to prepare or approve maps, shop drawings, opinions, reports, surveys, field orders, change orders, drawings and specifications, and supervisory or inspection activities performed as part of them. The exclusion applies even when claims allege negligent supervision, hiring, employment, training or monitoring, if the occurrence involved professional services.

The exception is the important part: professional services do not include services within construction means, methods, techniques, sequences and procedures employed by the insured in connection with its operations as a construction contractor. Ordinary construction judgment stays covered. Engineering stays excluded.

How CG 22 79 behaves in a tender or claim

When a delegated-design subcontractor's curtain wall anchors fail and injure a pedestrian, the suit against the GC and owner will allege negligent design, negligent construction and negligent supervision. The sub's carrier will separate the theories: allegations of improper installation fall within means and methods and stay covered; allegations that the anchor calculations were wrong fall within the exclusion. Because the exclusion applies to the coverage the additional insureds receive, the GC's tender is denied for the design theory as well.

The GC's own policy may carry a similar exclusion, and the sub's professional liability policy, if it has one, is usually claims-made with lower limits and no additional insured provisions. That leaves a gap unless the subcontract required contractor's professional liability for delegated design, with limits and an extended reporting period sized to the risk.

Edition history and companion forms

The 04 13 edition is the version on most contractor forms schedules today, with an earlier 07 98 edition still in circulation. Two companion forms frame it. CG 22 80, Limited Exclusion, Contractors, Professional Liability, does not exclude services hired in connection with the insured's own construction work, so it leaves more coverage for design-assist and design-build scopes. CG 22 43, Exclusion, Engineers, Architects or Surveyors Professional Liability, is the broader exclusion written for design firms.

Many carriers use their own professional exclusions instead of the ISO forms. Some are broader than either ISO version and some omit the means and methods exception, which can put ordinary construction claims at risk. Those are the ones to read line by line.

What to require or prohibit in the contract

Tag delegated design scope in the subcontract. Where the sub provides or procures engineering for its work, require contractor's professional liability (or the sub's engineer's professional liability with the GC protected as an indemnitee) with stated limits, a retroactive date no later than the start of design, and coverage maintained or an extended reporting period for the completed operations period. On the CGL, accept CG 22 80 or no professional exclusion; reject CG 22 79 and broader carrier exclusions unless the professional policy is verified.

• Require for delegated design: contractor's professional liability with exhibit-stated limits, a retroactive date before design starts, and continuing coverage for three years after completion.
• Accept on the CGL: no professional services exclusion, or CG 22 80, with the means and methods exception intact.
• Flag: CG 22 79 or carrier exclusions without a means and methods exception on any trade carrying design responsibility.

How Pikorua Security verifies or flags CG 22 79

Scope tags drive the rule. When a subcontract is tagged delegated design, design-assist or design-build, the validator searches the forms schedule and endorsement pages for CG 22 79, CG 22 43 and carrier professional exclusions, checks whether the means and methods exception is present, and requires a verified professional liability certificate before approving the vendor. The professional policy's retroactive date is compared with the design start date on the subcontract.

For trades without design responsibility, CG 22 79 is recorded as informational rather than deficient, so reviewers are not buried in noise on drywall and painting files.