Each Occurrence vs Aggregate Limit on a COI

Last updated July 2026.

On a certificate of insurance, the each occurrence limit is the most the insurer will pay for a single claim or incident, while the general aggregate limit is the most it will pay in total for all claims during the policy period, usually one year. A typical commercial general liability certificate shows $1,000,000 each occurrence and $2,000,000 general aggregate. The occurrence limit protects against one large loss; the aggregate is a ceiling across every loss combined, and once it is used up, coverage can be exhausted even if the policy has not expired.

These two numbers sit side by side in the limits box of an ACORD 25, and confusing them is one of the most common mistakes people make when they verify a vendor's coverage. A certificate can show a healthy per occurrence limit and still leave you exposed if the aggregate has already been eaten up by earlier claims. Here is exactly what each limit means, where to find it, and which combinations to require.

What is the difference between each occurrence and aggregate limit?

Each occurrence is per event; the aggregate is per policy period. If a vendor carries $1,000,000 each occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, the insurer will pay up to $1,000,000 for any one claim and up to $2,000,000 for all claims combined in that policy year. Two separate $1,000,000 losses would use the entire aggregate, and a third claim that same year could be paid nothing. The occurrence limit answers "how big a single loss is covered," and the aggregate answers "how much is left across the whole year."

What does each occurrence mean on a certificate of insurance?

Each occurrence is the maximum the policy pays for bodily injury and property damage arising from one accident or event, regardless of how many people are hurt or how many claimants are involved. If a vendor's employee causes a fire that injures three people, all three claims draw against the single each occurrence limit for that event. This is the number most contracts anchor on, and $1,000,000 each occurrence is the standard floor for general liability in commercial vendor agreements.

What is the general aggregate limit?

The general aggregate is the total the policy will pay for all covered claims during the policy period, typically twelve months. It is usually set at twice the occurrence limit, which is why $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate is so common. The risk hiding in the aggregate is that it is shared across every project and every client the vendor works with. A vendor who has already had claims earlier in the year may hand you a certificate showing $2,000,000 aggregate that is, in reality, mostly spent.

What is the products-completed operations aggregate?

The products-completed operations aggregate is a separate bucket that covers claims arising from a vendor's finished work or products after the job is done. It is listed on its own line of the ACORD 25 and is not part of the general aggregate. This matters most in construction, where a defect can surface months after completion. If completed-operations exposure is relevant to your work, require this limit explicitly rather than assuming the general aggregate covers it, because it does not.

Where are these limits on an ACORD 25?

On the ACORD 25 they appear in the commercial general liability section, in the limits column on the right. You will see "EACH OCCURRENCE," "GENERAL AGGREGATE," and "PRODUCTS-COMP/OP AGG" each on their own line with a dollar figure, plus "DAMAGE TO RENTED PREMISES," "MED EXP," and "PERSONAL & ADV INJURY." If you are new to reading the form, our guide on how to read a certificate of insurance walks through every box in order.

Why the aggregate limit matters when you verify a COI

Because the aggregate is shared and depletes, the number on the certificate is a maximum, not a guarantee of what remains. You cannot see how much of the aggregate is already used from the certificate alone. The practical defenses are to require an aggregate at least double your per occurrence requirement, to require a per project aggregate on construction work so each job gets its own full limit, and to re-collect the certificate at every renewal so you are always looking at a fresh policy period. Certificates usually arrive as PDF attachments in a shared inbox, and pulling the limits out of each one by hand is where verification quietly slips.

Should you require a per project aggregate?

For construction and other project-based work, yes. A per project aggregate endorsement gives each of your jobs its own separate aggregate limit, so a claim on another client's project cannot drain the coverage protecting yours. The forms that do this are CG 25 03 and CG 25 04, and we cover exactly how they work in our breakdown of the per project aggregate endorsement. Without it, one shared aggregate stretches across every project the vendor touches.

Common limit combinations to require

The workhorse requirement is $1,000,000 each occurrence and $2,000,000 general aggregate for general liability, with the products-completed operations aggregate also set at $2,000,000. Higher-risk or higher-value work commonly requires an umbrella or excess policy of $5,000,000 or more stacked on top. Whatever you set, write both the occurrence and the aggregate figure into the contract, because requiring only "one million dollars of general liability" leaves the aggregate undefined and lets a vendor satisfy the letter of the requirement with a thin policy.

Verify limits automatically

Reading occurrence and aggregate limits off one certificate takes a minute; doing it across hundreds of vendors, catching the ones whose aggregate sits at the occurrence limit, and re-checking at every renewal is where it breaks down. Certificate of insurance verification reads each ACORD 25 with AI, compares every limit against the requirement you set, and flags an aggregate that is too low or a missing per project endorsement before the vendor gets to work. Pair it with vendor insurance compliance software to monitor those limits for the life of the relationship.

The short version

Each occurrence is the cap on a single claim; the general aggregate is the cap on all claims in the policy year and is shared across every project a vendor runs. Require an aggregate at least double your occurrence limit, add a per project aggregate on construction work, name the products-completed operations aggregate separately, and re-collect certificates each renewal so the limits you are counting on are actually still there.