Does a contractor need to be on the subcontractors policy as additional insured?

This is not as simple a question as it may seem.

Subcontractors generally carry their own liability insurance. The General Contractor should verify that the sub contractors insurance either matches or exceeds their own policy limits as this is part of the contract terms for almost every general liability policy.

In effect if you let an uninsured subcontractor work on your job, unless you endorse your own policy to cover the subcontractor and pay the additional premium, their would be no coverage under the General Contractors insurance policy for liabilities of the Subcontractor. Basically if you get this wrong, the General contractor will be on the hook and out of pocket for all the subs damages with no coverage for it.

If you want the subcontractors covered under the General Contractors insurance policy it can certainly be done but will be significantly more expensive as you would be asking to insure a third party''s work.