Certificate of insurance (COI) tracking guide

At a glance

What a certificate is, and is not

A certificate of insurance is evidence that a policy existed on the date it was issued. It is not the policy. In the United States the most common form is the ACORD 25, the certificate of liability insurance. Copies of the form published by state insurance departments carry a disclaimer that the certificate is issued as a matter of information, does not affirmatively or negatively amend, extend or alter the coverage of the policies listed, and is not a contract between the insurer and the certificate holder. Insurance-industry certificate forms commonly add that where the holder is an additional insured the policy must be endorsed, and that a statement on the certificate does not replace the endorsement. Check the edition your supplier sends, because wording changes between editions.

Practical consequence: a clean certificate tells you that someone believes cover exists. It does not tell you the policy has no exclusion that matters to your contract, that your company is an additional insured, or that the insurer will give you notice if the policy is cancelled. For high-risk work, request the additional-insured endorsement and, where the contract allows, a copy of the relevant policy wording.

Step 1: write the requirement as data

Most contracts bury insurance in a clause or an exhibit: "commercial general liability of not less than $2,000,000 per occurrence, umbrella of $5,000,000, naming Customer as additional insured, thirty days' notice of cancellation". Turn that into fields before you chase anyone:

1. Coverage type.
2. Minimum limit and currency.
3. Whether additional-insured status, waiver of subrogation or primary and non-contributory wording is required.
4. Who must be named on the certificate.
5. Whether a renewal certificate is due before expiry or on request.
6. What follows if cover lapses: suspension of work, right to buy cover and recharge, termination.

A requirement written as data can be checked automatically against a received certificate. A requirement left in a PDF is checked by whoever remembers.

Step 2: request the right document

A request should name the contract, your exact legal entity, the coverage types and limits, and the endorsements you need. Vague requests ("send us your insurance") produce certificates that name the wrong holder or omit the umbrella layer. Use a short, repeatable letter; the COI request letter template is a starting point. Send the request to the supplier's broker as well as the supplier, since the broker issues the certificate.

Step 3: check the certificate against the requirement

Work through the same list every time:

• Is the policy period current, and when does it expire?
• Does each coverage line match the contract, with limits at or above the minimum? Limits can combine primary and umbrella layers, so confirm how the contract counts them.
• Is your entity named as certificate holder and, if required, additional insured?
• Is the insured the entity that signed your contract, not a parent or affiliate?
• Are deductibles or self-insured retentions acceptable under the contract?
• Are there unusual remarks, such as exclusions listed in the description box?

Record the result as accepted, accepted with exception, or rejected, and who decided. An exception without an owner and a date is a future dispute.

Step 4: renew before expiry

The date that matters is the policy expiry, not the date you received the certificate. Set reminders at least 60 days and 30 days before expiry and one at expiry. If the renewed certificate has not arrived by expiry, the supplier is uninsured as far as you can prove. Decide in advance what happens then: a formal reminder, a hold on new work orders, or a payment hold if the contract allows it. Do not invent consequences the contract does not give you; check the clause.

Where the law differs

This table is general information, not legal advice. Ask counsel about your specific contract.

Common failures

• Certificate holder is wrong. A certificate naming a different group company proves nothing for your contract.
• Expiry passes silently. The most frequent failure, and the cheapest to prevent.
• Aggregate eroded. Claims during the year can reduce an aggregate limit. A certificate does not show remaining limits.
• Subcontractors. The contract may require the supplier to flow insurance requirements down. Track subcontractor certificates where it matters.
• Spreadsheets with no owner. A column named "COI expiry" with no assigned person is a reminder nobody gets.

How Pactinel helps

Pactinel records insurance certificates and policies alongside guarantees and bonds, with coverage types, limits, additional-insured status and expiry dates, and lets you set required-document rules such as a minimum general liability limit for each supplier type. It raises alerts for missing, insufficient or expired documents and can extract limits, dates and the named insured from an uploaded certificate with a link to the source text, which a person then confirms. Pactinel does not give legal advice and does not decide whether a certificate satisfies your contract. You can start on the free plan.