Certificate of insurance review checklist (PDF)

How to use it

Write the subcontractor, the project, the tier, your name and the date at the top. Tick a line only when you have checked it against your subcontract, not against memory. Write what is still missing in the lines headed Still needed, and keep the sheet with the certificate it was run on.

The list is general information about practice in the United States, not insurance or legal advice. What counts as enough is set by your subcontract, with your broker and a construction attorney in your state.

The checklist

The four sections of the sheet, in its order.

General information

• Certificate issued for the current policy period, and less than a year old
• Received from the insurance agent, or confirmed with the agent
• Insured's legal name matches the subcontract and W-9
• Certificate holder shows our exact legal name and address
• Description of operations names the project and carries the wording we require

Coverage and limits

• General liability meets our each occurrence and general aggregate limits
• Products and completed operations aggregate meets our limit
• Commercial auto meets our limit and covers any auto, or owned, hired and non-owned autos
• Workers' compensation is shown with statutory limits, and the agent has confirmed the state where the work is
• Employers' liability meets our limits
• Umbrella or excess meets our limit, if we require one
• Every policy runs for the whole time the subcontractor is scheduled to work
• Insurers meet the rating our contract asks for, often A- VII or better, and are admitted or eligible as surplus lines insurers in our state

Endorsements

• ADDL INSD and SUBR WVD boxes are marked on each policy where we require them
• Additional insured endorsement for ongoing operations received (for example CG 20 10)
• Additional insured endorsement for completed operations received (for example CG 20 37)
• Primary and non-contributory wording confirmed (for example CG 20 01)
• Waiver of subrogation received for general liability, auto and workers' compensation (workers' comp where the state allows it)
• Edition dates on the endorsement forms reviewed
• Policy's schedule of forms checked for exclusions for height, residential work, action over and the subcontractor's class of work

Decision

• Approved
• Deficient. Items requested on (date)
• Exception sent for approval to (name)

Notes on five of the lines

• Less than a year old. A certificate is a snapshot on the day it was issued. One from the current policy period can be months old with nothing wrong. One issued before the period began says nothing about this policy.
• From the agent, or confirmed with the agent. A certificate forwarded by the subcontractor is ordinary. What matters is that someone has confirmed the copy with the agent who issued it.
• The state where the work is. The certificate has no box for the states a workers’ compensation policy covers. Ask the agent to name them in the description of operations, or to send the policy’s information page.
• Admitted or eligible. A surplus lines insurer is not licensed in the state and may still be eligible to write there. A line that asked only for a licensed insurer would fail those policies.
• Exclusions. The certificate has no place to list them. Ask the agent for the policy’s schedule of forms and endorsements, and for a copy of any exclusion on your list.

Or let the free checker do the first pass

The free certificate checker reads one certificate against a standard set of subcontractor requirements and names what is short: a limit under the set, a policy date that has passed, an endorsement that is only a marked box. It needs no account.

It works from the certificate alone and from a standard set, so the lines about your own contract wording, the endorsement forms and the schedule of forms are still yours to tick. WatchMyCover makes the same comparison against your own requirements, and treats a ticked box as needs review until the endorsement form is on file.