Certificates of Insurance

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Commerce would ground to a halt if it weren’t for Certificates of Insurance (COI). It’s a bold statement but true. Without this document providing that an entity has insurance coverage, banks wouldn’t fund construction projects, homeowners wouldn’t remodel, goods wouldn’t be shipped and cars wouldn’t be financed. These are just a few of the nightmare scenarios that would occur if one weren’t able to provide proof of insurance.

COIs provide proof to a third party (not the named insured) of the existence of and amount of insurance issued to the named insured by their insurance carrier(s). These are most commonly requested when required by a contract between two parties; such as an owner/contractor or bank/borrower.

COIs address those types of coverage that a third party would be most interested in knowing about concerning the named insured:

  • Commercial General Liability
  • Automobile Liability
  • Workers Compensation
  • Umbrella/Excess Liability

Third parties are often interested in proof of coverage specific to a transaction and that protect the third party’s interest in that transaction, such as proof of Homeowners Insurance for a mortgagor, proof of Builders Risk insurance to a project lender, or proof of cargo insurance to a bank financing an international transaction. Additional information provided by COIs include:

  • A “Remarks” section for more specific data (e.g. Description of Operations/Locations/Vehicles)
  • Insurance contract dates of coverage
  • Names of insurance carriers providing coverage
  • Limits of liability of each policy
  • Provision for notification of policy cancellation to the third party in the event the policy is to be cancelled before the expiration date shown

For more information concerning Certificates of Insurance, please call Mike Regan at Regan Cleary Insurance.

At Cleary, we will evaluate your business exposures and work with you to develop a comprehensive plan to safeguard your business . We are members of the National Association of Surety Bond Producers (NASBP), the professional organization for agents that also specialize in surety bonding. Give us a call today at 617-723-0700.