What a Certificate of Insurance Actually Proves

Every general contractor, landlord and enterprise client asks for a Certificate of Insurance. Few people know what the document does — and does not — do.

It is a snapshot, not a contract

A COI summarises what policies exist on the date it was issued. It confers no rights and changes no terms. If the policy lapses tomorrow, the certificate in the client’s file still looks fine.

Additional insured is the part that matters

Being listed on a certificate is not the same as being an additional insured on the policy. That status has to be endorsed onto the policy itself, and the endorsement form number decides how much protection the other party actually gets.

Waiver of subrogation and primary/non-contributory

Many contracts require both. Both are policy endorsements with real premium implications. Read the insurance section of the contract before you sign it, not after the client rejects your certificate.

Same-day issuance

We issue certificates the same business day, usually within hours. Send us the contract language and we will make sure the endorsements behind the certificate match what you promised.