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WatchMyCover does not read documents. When a certificate arrives, whether by email, through a subcontractor’s upload link, or on paper, someone on your team reads it and records what it says. The rules then run on exactly what was recorded.

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Open the form

  • On the vendor’s page, choose Record certificate.
  • If the subcontractor sent the file through their upload link, it is listed under Documents on file marked Not read yet. Choose Record it beside the file: the form opens, and once you save, the document is marked read.
The dialog is Record a certificate. It is laid out from the vendor’s requirement template: every coverage the template makes mandatory is listed first and opened, then every other coverage type, closed, in case the certificate carries it.
Every value starts empty. The template’s minimum and what is on file now are shown beside each field as hints, never copied in, so the verdict always rests on a document someone read.

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Reading an ACORD 25

The ACORD 25 (Certificate of Liability Insurance) is the one-page form most brokers issue.

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Certificate details

The issue date matters: a certificate issued more than 365 days ago cannot confirm cover today, and is flagged. See Every finding explained.

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Coverages

Each coverage on the certificate is one row in the table in the middle of the form. The letter in the INSR LTR column says which insurer writes it. Enter limits as whole dollars: 1,000,000 or $1,000,000. Leave a limit blank if the certificate does not state one; if your template sets a minimum for it, the finding will say not provided.

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Endorsement evidence

For each endorsement, choose one of three levels. Each starts at Not on certificate.
  • Not on certificate: the certificate does not show it.
  • Stated on certificate: Y in ADDL INSD or SUBR WVD, or the description box says so.
  • Endorsement form on file: you hold the endorsement form itself (for example CG 20 10 or CG 20 37 for additional insured). Upload it under Documents on file.
Why the distinction exists: Endorsements and evidence levels.
If the certificate lists several insurers (A, B, C), WatchMyCover holds one insurer name per certificate. Enter INSURER A, and put the policy numbers against each coverage so the record still identifies each policy.

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Save

Choose Record and re-check. You must include at least one coverage, and every included coverage needs its effective and expiry dates. The vendor is checked straight away, and the page shows the new verdict and findings. On the vendor’s page:
  • Requirements versus certificate compares each required coverage with what is on file: the limit required, the limit on the certificate, and the evidence for each endorsement (AI, WOS, P&NC).
  • Cover in force shows the policy each coverage is judged on, across every certificate in force.
  • Certificate on file (or Certificates in force) lists the insurer, producer, certificate number and issue date of each.

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Several certificates, and renewals

Recording a certificate does not have to replace the one before it. General liability and workers’ compensation often arrive on separate certificates, and a renewal can be recorded before the old policy ends. WatchMyCover keeps each in force and judges each coverage on the right policy. See Renewals and several certificates.

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Storing the document

Recording the data does not store the PDF. To keep the certificate itself with the record, use Add a file under Documents on file (PDF, PNG or JPEG, up to 10 MB). Files sent through an upload link are stored there automatically.