A Certificate of Insurance (COI) is a one-page document your insurance carrier issues that summarizes the coverage your business currently has in force — typically general liability and, if you have crew, workers' compensation. It doesn't replace your actual policy; it's proof that the policy exists and is active.
General Contractors ask for a COI before you set foot on a job site because they're on the hook for what happens there. If a subcontractor causes property damage or someone gets hurt and has no valid coverage, the GC's own insurance — or the GC directly — can end up absorbing the cost. Requiring a COI up front shifts that risk back to where it belongs.
Most GCs will look for three things on your COI: adequate general liability limits (commonly $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate, though this varies by project), workers' comp if you have employees, and sometimes a line naming the GC as an "additional insured" for the duration of the job.
COIs expire when your policy renews, so it's worth calendaring the date and asking your broker to send an updated certificate automatically each year — an expired COI on file is one of the most common reasons a GC pauses a work order.
This article is general information, not insurance advice. Talk to a licensed insurance broker about the specific coverage and limits that make sense for your trade and the jobs you take on.
Work orders, crew, compliance, and invoicing — built for subs, not lawyers.
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