How often should you collect COIs from subcontractors?

Three times, at least: before the sub starts work, at every policy renewal, and whenever a new project or a change in scope changes what you require. A certificate collected at onboarding and filed away starts going stale the day it arrives.

This is general information, not legal or insurance advice.

Why once isn't enough

A certificate shows the sub's coverage on the day it was issued. It says itself that it confers no rights on you and doesn't change the policies it describes.

Liability policies are usually written for a year. In that year a sub can let a policy lapse, be cancelled for non-payment or move to a cheaper policy with lower limits, and nobody is obliged to tell you. A certificate that's ten months old describes a policy that may be about to end.

If an uninsured sub causes injury or damage on your job, the claim can come up the chain to you, along with your own obligations to the owner. Collecting certificates on a schedule keeps the picture current.

1. Before work starts

Make a current certificate a condition of the subcontract, collected and reviewed before the sub's first day on site. Check that it:

• Shows the coverages and limits your subcontract requires
• Shows you as additional insured where required (and ask for the endorsement)
• Has policy periods that are current today
• Names the same legal entity as your subcontract

"We'll send it next week" is not a reason to start early. A certificate is easiest to get while it's still a condition of starting.

2. At every renewal

This is the one most GCs miss. When a policy renews, the old certificate describes a policy that has ended, even if the sub renewed on time. Track each policy's expiry date and ask for the new certificate before it arrives. The rule is simple: no certificate on file should have expired before today.

3. When the project or the requirements change

A certificate that covered one job may not cover the next. Collect or re-check one when:

• An existing sub starts a new project, especially under a different owner contract
• The owner's insurance requirements are stricter than your standard
• The sub's scope grows into riskier work, such as roofing or excavation
• The contract requires project-specific additional insured status or a particular endorsement

The same sub can need a different certificate for a hospital job than for a house remodel. Requirements belong to the project as well as the sub.

A cadence to follow

1. Before signing: send your requirements in writing (limits, additional insured status, endorsements) and ask for the certificate.
2. Before work starts: check the certificate against them. The sub doesn't start until it passes.
3. When you file it: record every policy's expiry date.
4. 30 to 45 days before an expiry: ask for the renewal certificate.
5. At each new project: re-check the requirements for that job and owner.
6. On any change the sub reports: a new insurer, a cancellation or a bigger scope means a new certificate.
7. Keep every version. You may need to show what coverage was in force on a given date long after the job closes.

Tracking is the hard part

Collecting one certificate is easy. Keeping dozens current, each with its own dates and project requirements, is where manual systems break. A spreadsheet doesn't tell you a sub's general liability ends in three weeks unless someone set a reminder.

TradeGuard records the dates from each certificate, asks subs for renewals at 90, 60 and 30 days by default, and shows which subs aren't covered today. You can try it for 14 days without a card.