A subcontractor emails you a certificate of insurance an hour before the crew shows up. It looks official, it has a signature, and it lists a bunch of policy numbers. So you file it and move on. That’s the moment most problems start.
A COI only protects you if you actually read it. You don’t need to know insurance law to do that. You just need to know where to look and what a wrong answer looks like. Here’s how to check one in about five minutes.
Start with the form number in the corner
Look at the bottom left of the page. You should see something like “ACORD 25 (2016/03).” That tells you which form you’re holding and which edition it is.
Most certificates you’ll get from contractors and vendors are the ACORD 25 form, the certificate of liability insurance. If you see ACORD 24, 27 or 28 instead, you’re looking at proof of property cover, which usually matters to lenders and landlords, not to someone hiring a contractor.
Check that the insured name matches your contract
The “Insured” box near the top left shows who owns the policy. This name should match the company on your contract exactly.
Small differences matter. “Ridgeview Roofing LLC” and “Ridgeview Roofing Inc.” are two different legal businesses. If the names don’t match, the policy may not cover the company you actually hired. Ask the contractor to have their agent send a corrected certificate before work starts.
Read the dates before the limits
Every coverage row has an effective date and an expiration date. People skip straight to the dollar amounts, but the dates trip up more businesses.
- Make sure every policy is active today.
- Check that it stays active for the whole job, not just the first week.
- Put the earliest expiration date on your calendar so you can ask for a renewed certificate in time.
A certificate with a policy that ended last month tells you nothing about cover right now.
Compare the limits with what you asked for
Your contract or vendor agreement should list the minimum limits you need. A common ask for general liability is $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate. Hold the certificate next to your contract and check each line.
If you required workers compensation and that row is blank, flag it. If the auto liability limit is lower than your contract says, flag that too. A low number isn’t something to sort out after an accident.
Don’t trust the “Y” on its own
Two narrow columns sit next to each coverage line: ADDL INSD (additional insured) and SUBR WVD (waiver of subrogation). A “Y” in either one means the agent says the policy includes that endorsement.
Here’s the catch. The certificate doesn’t create the endorsement. It only reports it. If your contract requires you to be an additional insured, ask for a copy of the endorsement itself. That page shows who is covered and under what conditions, and it’s the document that counts if a claim ever happens.
Being the certificate holder is not the same as being an additional insured. The holder just receives the paper. An additional insured actually gets coverage under the policy.
Look at the description box
The “Description of Operations” box is where the agent writes job details, project addresses and any special wording. Check that it mentions your project or your company when your contract asks for that.
Keep in mind that words in this box can’t add cover the policy doesn’t already have. If it says “See ACORD 101,” there’s an extra page with more wording, and you should ask for it if it wasn’t attached.
Call the agent when something feels off
Fake and altered certificates are more common than most people think. Warning signs include fonts that change partway through the page, policy numbers that look made up, a missing signature, or a producer you can’t find online.
When in doubt, look up the agency yourself and call them. Don’t use the phone number printed on the certificate. Ask them to confirm the policy is active and that the certificate came from their office. It takes two minutes and can save you from a very expensive surprise.
A quick checklist for every certificate
- Right form and a current edition
- Insured name matches the contract exactly
- Every policy is active for the full job
- Limits meet or beat your contract
- Endorsement copies on file if you need additional insured status
- Description box mentions your project where required
- Signed by the agent, and the agent confirms it if anything looks odd
Run through this list every time, even with vendors you’ve used for years. Policies lapse, companies change names, and agents make typos. The certificate is only as good as the five minutes you spend checking it.