Certificate of insurance (COI)

A certificate of insurance (COI) is a document issued by an insurance company or broker that evidences current insurance coverage. The certificate lists: insured business name and address, types of coverage (general liability, workers comp, commercial auto), coverage limits, policy numbers, effective and expiration dates, and any additional insureds or special endorsements.

COIs are required by: most commercial customers before allowing contractor work on their property, residential customers in luxury market segments, property managers, HOAs, project owners on construction projects, and many subcontractor agreements. The standard requirement is general liability ($1M-$2M limits) and workers compensation; some commercial customers require additional coverage or specific limits.

For service operators, COI management is operational overhead. Standard practices: maintain digital and paper copies of current COI; have your insurance agent prepare and issue new COIs as customers request them (typically within 24-48 hours of request); track COI expiration to avoid coverage gaps when customers verify expiration dates; understand additional insured requirements (some commercial customers require to be named as additional insured on your liability policy — usually a no-cost endorsement). Operators serving commercial markets benefit from systematizing COI delivery to avoid friction at the start of new customer relationships.