FAQ about Certificates of Insurance

What is a certificate of insurance?
A certificate of insurance is simply a standard form that shows a summary of your insurance coverage. It includes your company, policy number, and relevant limits of coverage as well as the beginning and expiration dates of coverage. It is typically provided to prospective customers or other interested parties as evidence of your insurance.

What is an additional insured?
When you add a person or business entity to your policy as additional insured, you are providing them with policyholder status on your policy- which means that in the event of a loss, they have the right to file a claim on your policy and your insurance coverage will be extended to them in the event they are named in a claim for which you were at least partially liable.

Who is the certificate holder?
The certificate holder may be a prospective customer, financial institution, or any entity that is requesting proof of your insurance coverage.

Is there an additional charge for certificates, additional insureds, or waivers of subrogation?
Our agency does not charge any fees for issuing an unlimited number of certificates of insurance once your policy is in force. However, depending on the policy some insurance carriers do charge additional premium if your certificate holders also need to be added on your policy as additional insured or require a waiver of subrogation.

Why is a full mailing address required for certificate holders and additional insureds?When certificates are issued, a mailing address is typically required so that your certificate holder will automatically be notified of any changes in your coverage. They will also receive notices of your renewals and/or cancellations.

What is a waiver of subrogation?
A waiver of subrogation basically means that in the event of a claim, your insurance company will forfeit their right to recover damages from a 3rd party- even if they were liable for the damage.

If I have more than 1 policy, do I need more than 1 certificate?
Not usually. A single certificate can include policy information for multiple policies- even if they are underwritten by different companies.

How long does it take to get a certificate?
Certificate requests submitted by 3pm Mon-Thurs and 1pm on Friday will be issued the same business day. Request submitted later in the day will be issued before noon on the following business day. If you are purchasing a policy for the first time, binding requirements (down payment and signature documents) will need to be submitted before noon in order to get your certificates out the same day. We will also accommodate urgent requests to the best of our ability.

My commercial customer or general contractor is refusing to pay me until I provide a certificate. Is that normal?
Many insurance policies are subject to premium audits at the end of the year. If your general contractor is withholding payment until you provide a certificate, they are protecting themselves from having to pay additional premium on their own insurance policy which is perfectly normal. If they do not provide their insurance company with proof of your insurance, they would be subject to additional premium for using uninsured subcontractors.

Can I get a certificate if I only have a ghost policy?
A ghost policy is just as legitimate as any other policy and the certificate of insurance for a single person company will look the same as a certificate of insurance for a company with 100 employees (all other things being equal).

Do I need to request certificates from my subcontractors?
Contract labor can be covered on your insurance policy, however, you need to request certificates of insurance from all of your self-employed subcontractors in order to avoid paying additional premium in the event of an audit.