ACORD Forms
How to Complete an ACORD 126 Form Correctly
The ACORD 126 is the Commercial General Liability section that accompanies the ACORD 125 for every GL submission. It captures the information underwriters need to classify, rate, and underwrite the GL risk. The description of operations, premises information, and classification descriptions are the fields that most directly affect whether a GL submission moves quickly or generates additional information requests.
Key sections of the ACORD 126
Section 1: Premises Information
Location address, square footage, and whether the insured owns or leases. Each physical location where business is conducted must be listed. For businesses with multiple locations, each address gets its own row. Square footage drives the premises liability rating base for some classes. Do not leave blank — underwriters use this to verify the location and assess hazard.
Section 2: Classification and Premium Basis
This is where GL class codes and their rating bases are entered. The classification code determines the rate, and the rating basis (revenue, payroll, square footage, or units) determines what that rate is applied to. For most commercial classes, the rating basis is annual gross revenue or receipts. Entering the wrong class code or wrong revenue figure here is the most common ACORD 126 error.
Section 3: General Liability Questions
A series of yes/no questions about operations: whether the insured conducts business away from the premises, whether products are sold, whether any work involves explosives or demolition, whether swimming pools are present, and similar hazard-relevant questions. Every "yes" answer requires explanation — do not leave explanations blank.
Section 4: Products / Completed Operations
Describes the products manufactured, distributed, or sold and the completed operations (work performed that creates future liability). For contractors, completed operations is the tail of the GL policy — it covers property damage and bodily injury that originates from work already performed. Products liability and completed operations aggregate limits are separate from the GL aggregate.
Section 5: Additional Coverages
Captures requests for additional coverages that may be endorsed to the GL policy — personal and advertising injury, fire legal liability, medical payments, and similar. The limits for these coverages must match what was discussed with the client and what is being requested from the carrier.
The description of operations: what underwriters actually want
The description of operations on the ACORD 126 is one of the most important fields in any GL submission. A good description answers:
→What does the business do (specifically, not generically)
→Who are its customers — residential consumers, commercial businesses, industrial clients
→Where does work take place — only at owned premises, at customer locations, or both
→What is the split of revenue across different operation types
→For contractors: what is self-performed vs. subcontracted
→Are there any specialty or hazardous operations that need to be noted
Most common ACORD 126 errors
✕Using a generic class code instead of the most accurate code for the insured's operations — wrong class code means wrong rate
✕Leaving the description of operations as one word or a generic phrase — "contractor" or "retail" is not a description
✕Not listing all premises locations — a business with 3 locations must have all 3 listed for complete coverage
✕Not explaining "yes" answers to the GL questions section — every hazardous activity marked "yes" needs explanation
✕Putting market value or assessed value as the revenue figure instead of annual gross receipts
✕Not including subcontractor cost for contractor GL submissions — this is a separate rating factor for most commercial GL programs
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