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A subcontractor often has more than one certificate in force at once:
  • Separate carriers. General liability from one insurer and workers’ compensation from another, on separate certificates.
  • Early renewals. Next year’s certificate arrives before this year’s policy ends.
WatchMyCover keeps every certificate in force and judges each coverage on its own.

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Which policy each coverage is judged on

For each coverage type, across every certificate in force:
  1. The policy in force today wins. Its limits and endorsements are the ones checked.
  2. If none is in force today, the one that starts soonest is used, and reported as not yet in force.
  3. If every policy has ended, the one that lapsed most recently is used, and reported as expired.
The vendor’s Cover in force card shows the policy each coverage is being judged on.

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Renewals carry cover forward

If a renewal on file starts on or before the day the current policy ends, the cover is treated as unbroken. The expiry date that matters, for the Expiring soon warning, for chasing and for sorting the register, becomes the end of the renewal. So recording a renewal early:
  • clears the Expiring soon status straight away, provided the renewal meets the requirements;
  • withdraws any renewal chase still queued for the old expiry date, so the subcontractor is not asked for something you already have;
  • does not change today’s verdict on limits and endorsements, which still come from the policy in force today. The renewal’s own limits and endorsements are judged the day it takes effect.
If the renewal starts after the old policy ends, there is a gap. The old policy expires, the coverage is Non-compliant until the renewal takes effect, and chasing continues on the old expiry.

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When an old certificate is set aside

A new certificate replaces an older one only when it fully takes its place today: every coverage on the old certificate is on the new one, and each old coverage has either already lapsed or is replaced by a new policy already in force. The old certificate is then marked superseded. Otherwise the older certificate stays in force alongside the new one. For example, a new general liability certificate does not set aside the certificate that carries workers’ compensation. Superseded certificates are never deleted. The vendor’s page shows how many are “retained for audit”.

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A renewal passes: the subcontractor is told

When a renewal is recorded and the vendor becomes Compliant, and they were sent a chase email in the last 120 days, WatchMyCover emails the subcontractor (broker copied): “On file: vendor’s certificate meets your company’s requirements”, with the date of the next renewal you will ask about. This only happens when chasing is on. See What subcontractors see.