Does a certificate of insurance give my client coverage?

No. A certificate is evidence that a policy existed when issued. Coverage for your client comes from an additional insured endorsement on your policy, not from the certificate.

What is the difference between a certificate holder and an additional insured?

A certificate holder simply received the document. An additional insured is actually added to your policy by endorsement and can be protected by it. Contracts usually require the latter.

How fast can I get a certificate?

Standard certificates are often quick. Special wording, additional insured, or waiver requests may need an endorsement or carrier approval, so send the requirement early.

What if the contract asks for wording my policy does not have?

Some wording requires an endorsement, a policy change, or additional premium, and some is not available on your current policy. Send us the contract and we will tell you what is possible before you sign.

Contractor Certificate of Insurance & Additional Insured

A client asked for a certificate. Start here.

Certificates of insurance and additional insured requests are a daily part of contracting, and they hold up jobs when they are wrong. A certificate proves a policy existed; the endorsement behind it is what actually transfers risk. Here is how it works and how to get yours handled fast.

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A certificate of insurance is a snapshot showing your coverage existed when it was issued. It grants the holder no coverage by itself. Additional insured status, which a contract usually requires, comes from an endorsement added to your policy, not from the certificate. We issue certificates and confirm the endorsements behind them.

What a certificate proves, and what it does not

A certificate summarizes your coverage on the day it is issued. It is useful evidence, but it is not a contract and it grants the holder no rights. Your policy can change the next day, and the certificate will not say so. Most importantly, being listed as the certificate holder does not make a client an additional insured. That distinction is where contractors get caught.

Where additional insured really comes from

When a contract requires the client to be covered under your policy, that protection comes from an additional insured endorsement on your policy, often on a completed-operations basis for construction, plus sometimes a waiver of subrogation and primary and noncontributory wording. The certificate may reference these, but the endorsements are what do the work. Always confirm the endorsement exists, not just the certificate.

How to request one

Tell us who needs the certificate, the exact wording or contract requirement, and the deadline. Standard certificates can often be issued quickly. Special wording, additional insured, or waiver requests may require an endorsement, carrier approval, or a policy change, so send the contract or requirement and we will confirm what is possible before the job is held up.

A client asked for a certificate. Start here.

What a certificate proves, and what it does not

Where additional insured really comes from

How to request one

Common questions.

Does your policy actually carry the wording you are promising?

Keep going.

General Liability

Contract Insurance Review

What a certificate proves

Get the certificate right the first time.