David Pharr, Alex Purvis, and Katie Suttle Weinert co-authored Chapter 2: Who is The Insured? in the American Bar Association's "The Reference Handbook on the Comprehensive General Liability Policy".
The first critical issue in any coverage analysis is whether the person seeking coverage is afforded coverage by the policy. Under the standard commercial general liability (CGL) policy, there are two main types of insureds: named insureds and additional insureds. Named insureds are insureds that are named in the declarations page of the CGL policy and further defined in Section II. Additional insureds are insureds that are not named in the declarations page of the policy, but that are afforded coverage under the policy usually by way of endorsement.
Reprinted with permission by the American Bar Association, Tort Trial and Insurance Section (TIPS), Copyright 2010.