COI Checklist: 8 Things to Verify on Every Certificate of Insurance

Before a vendor sets foot on your property or job site, you need to verify their COI is complete and compliant. Here's exactly what to check, every time.

Most COI problems aren't discovered when the certificate arrives, they're discovered after an incident. A vendor's policy lapsed last month. The coverage limit was $500K when your contract required $1M. Your organization was never listed as additional insured. All of this is preventable with a consistent review process.

This checklist gives you the exact items to verify on every certificate of insurance, in the order that matters. Use it every time a new COI comes in, whether you're reviewing manually or setting up automated requirements in COI tracking software.

The COI Checklist: 8 Items to Verify

1. Named Insured Matches Your Contract

The name in the "Insured" field on the COI must match exactly the legal entity name on your vendor contract. Watch for mismatches like:

  • "Smith Plumbing LLC" on the COI vs. "Smith Plumbing Services" on your contract
  • A parent company listed when you hired a subsidiary
  • A DBA name used instead of the legal entity name

If there's a discrepancy, ask the vendor's insurance broker to issue a corrected certificate before work begins. Do not accept a certificate that doesn't match your contract.

2. Required Coverage Types Are Present

Confirm that every coverage type required by your contract is listed on the COI. Depending on the vendor and work type, you may require some or all of:

  • Commercial General Liability (CGL), Required for virtually every vendor
  • Workers' Compensation & Employer's Liability, Required for any vendor with employees
  • Commercial Auto Liability, Required for vendors who drive to your property or site
  • Umbrella / Excess Liability, Required for higher-risk trades (roofing, electrical, HVAC)
  • Professional Liability / E&O, Required for consultants, engineers, architects
  • Pollution Liability, Required for environmental contractors, fuel delivery, pest control

If a coverage type is missing, require the vendor to obtain it before starting work. Don't waive requirements without a written exception from your risk manager or attorney.

3. Coverage Limits Meet Your Minimums

Each coverage type has a limit, the maximum amount the insurer will pay per claim (per occurrence) and per policy year (aggregate). Your contracts should specify the minimum limits you require. Common baseline minimums:

  • General Liability: $1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate
  • Workers' Compensation: Statutory limits (varies by state)
  • Employer's Liability: $500,000/$500,000/$500,000
  • Auto Liability: $1,000,000 combined single limit
  • Umbrella: $1,000,000–$5,000,000 depending on risk

Check both the per-occurrence and aggregate limits. A policy with a $1M per-occurrence limit but a $1M aggregate can be exhausted by a single large claim, leaving you exposed for the rest of the policy period.

4. Policy Effective Date Is Before Work Starts

The policy effective date must be on or before the vendor's first day on your property or project. A COI issued today for a policy that starts next week won't cover work done this week. Verify the effective date in each coverage section, not just the certificate issue date, those are often different.

5. Policy Expiration Date Covers the Full Project

The policy expiration date must extend through the project completion date. If a vendor's policy expires mid-project, you need a renewal COI before the existing one lapses, not after. Build in a 30-day buffer: if your project runs through August 31st, require policies expiring September 30th or later, giving time to get a renewal if something goes wrong.

For ongoing vendor relationships, COI tracking software sends automatic alerts at 30, 14, and 7 days before expiration so you never get caught off guard.

6. Your Organization Is Listed as Additional Insured

Additional insured status means your organization is covered under the vendor's policy, not just the vendor. Without it, you'd need to use your own insurance if a vendor causes damage or injury while working for you. Always require additional insured status on:

  • General Liability
  • Umbrella/Excess Liability (if applicable)
  • Auto Liability (when vendors drive on your behalf)

Look for your organization's exact legal name in the "Description of Operations" section or on a separate additional insured endorsement. A generic "per contract" notation may not be sufficient, ask your attorney what language is required for your contracts.

7. Waiver of Subrogation Is Included (If Required)

A waiver of subrogation prevents the vendor's insurer from suing your organization after it pays a claim. Without it, if a vendor's worker is injured on your property and files a workers' comp claim, the insurer could turn around and sue you for contributing to the injury.

If your contracts require waivers of subrogation, verify they're endorsed on each required coverage type. Look for "Waiver of Subrogation" in the "Description of Operations" box or as a separate endorsement. Some insurers charge extra for this endorsement, make sure it's actually on the policy, not just promised.

8. Certificate Holder Information Is Correct

The certificate holder section lists who receives notice if the policy is cancelled. Make sure your organization's full legal name and address are listed correctly. An incorrect address means cancellation notices could go to the wrong place, and you wouldn't know a vendor's policy was cancelled until it was too late.

How to Automate This Checklist

Manually reviewing every COI against this checklist is time-consuming. For a small vendor portfolio (under 10 vendors), this process is manageable. But at 20, 50, or 100+ vendors, manual review becomes the bottleneck in your compliance workflow.

COI File automates this checklist process. When a vendor uploads a COI, the AI extracts all key fields and checks them against your configured requirements. If a coverage type is missing, a limit is below your minimum, or additional insured status is absent, the system flags it automatically, so your team only reviews exceptions, not every certificate.

The compliance dashboard shows each vendor's status at a glance: green for fully compliant, yellow for expiring soon, red for non-compliant or expired. And automatic alerts mean you're notified 30, 14, and 7 days before a certificate expires, so you can request renewals before coverage lapses.

Try COI File free for up to 5 vendors, no credit card required.

Free COI Checklist Template

For manual review, use our free COI requirements checklist, a printable, fillable template with every item from this checklist, plus space to track approval status per vendor.

If you're tracking COIs in a spreadsheet, our free COI tracking spreadsheet template includes a compliance status column with automatic color-coding for Excel and Google Sheets.

Frequently Asked Questions

A COI checklist is a standardized list of items to verify on every certificate of insurance before allowing a vendor to begin work. It ensures you catch missing coverage, incorrect limits, wrong additional insured status, and near-expired policies before they become a liability.
Check: (1) Named insured matches the vendor name on your contract, (2) Coverage types match your requirements (GL, WC, auto, umbrella), (3) Coverage limits meet your minimums, (4) Effective date is before work starts, (5) Expiration date is after project completion, (6) Your organization is listed as additional insured, (7) Waiver of subrogation is included if required, (8) Certificate holder information is correct, (9) Policy is not cancelled or endorsed in a way that reduces coverage.
Collect a new COI at the start of every contract or project, and whenever an existing COI is within 30 days of expiration. For ongoing vendor relationships, set up an annual renewal reminder 60 days before each anniversary date. Never let a vendor work on your property with an expired COI on file.
Standard minimum requirements vary by industry and contract, but a common baseline is: General Liability, $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate, Workers' Compensation, statutory limits per state law, Auto Liability, $1M combined single limit. For higher-risk work (roofing, electrical, HVAC), require Umbrella/Excess Liability of $1–5M over the primary policies. Always consult your insurance broker or attorney for requirements specific to your contracts.
Being listed as an additional insured on a vendor's policy means your organization is covered under that vendor's insurance if they cause damage or injury while working for you. Without additional insured status, you may have to use your own insurance to cover claims caused by your vendors, increasing your premiums and exposure. Always require additional insured status for every vendor that performs work on your property.
A waiver of subrogation prevents the vendor's insurance company from suing your organization to recover money it paid out on a claim. For example, if a vendor's employee is injured on your property and the vendor's workers' comp pays the claim, without a waiver of subrogation, the insurer could then sue you for contributing to the injury. Require waivers of subrogation in contracts where there's any risk of cross-claims between parties.
A spreadsheet works for very small vendor lists (under 10 vendors). But spreadsheets don't send automatic alerts when certificates near expiration, require manual data entry for every COI, and don't flag missing checklist items automatically. COI tracking software like COI File automates the checklist, it flags non-compliant certificates, sends expiration alerts, and gives you a real-time compliance dashboard.
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Firdaosh Bano

COI Compliance Specialist

Firdaosh Bano is a COI compliance specialist and the founder of COI File. She spent 6 years managing vendor compliance for commercial properties - tracking 2,000+ COIs across 150+ properties in spreadsheets before building the tool she wished she'd had. She writes about certificate of insurance compliance, vendor risk management, and making insurance tracking less painful for small teams.

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