How to read a certificate of insurance (ACORD 25)

Check that the insured is the company on your subcontract, that each policy's limits meet your requirements and that every expiry date is still ahead of you. Treat the additional insured and waiver marks as the agent's statements until you have the endorsements.

The ACORD 25, titled "Certificate of Liability Insurance", is the form most U.S. subcontractors send when you ask for a COI. It's a summary of the policies, not the policies themselves, and its header says it "confers no rights upon the certificate holder".

Start with who, not how much

1. Insured. It must be the legal entity on your subcontract. "Smith Electric LLC" and "Smith Electrical Services Inc" are different companies.
2. Producer. The agency that issued the certificate, with contact details you can confirm independently.
3. Certificate holder. Usually you. Being the holder doesn't make you an additional insured.

If the insured is wrong, stop there. The rest of the form describes someone else's coverage.

The coverage blocks

Block	What to check
Commercial general liability	Occurrence or claims-made; each-occurrence and aggregate limits against your subcontract
Automobile liability	The limit and the auto boxes your subcontract asks for, if the sub drives to the site or hauls
Umbrella or excess	Only if your subcontract requires limits above the primary policies
Workers' compensation and employers' liability	PER STATUTE marked; employers' liability limits where required
Description of operations	Project names, and any additional insured or primary wording the agent added

"Close enough" isn't enough. If the subcontract says $2,000,000 and the certificate shows $1,000,000, you don't have what you contracted for.

Dates go stale

Each policy has its own effective and expiry dates. A certificate issued in January can show a policy that was cancelled in March; the certificate doesn't change when the policy does. Ask the same question every time: is this expiry date still in the future today?

Set your reminder 30 days before the date, not on it. See COI expiration tracking methods.

Additional insured and waiver marks

The ACORD 25 has two narrow columns beside each policy: ADDL INSD (additional insured) and SUBR WVD (subrogation waived). Primary and noncontributory wording, when it's there at all, is usually typed into the description box.

All of these are the agent's statements about the policy, not the endorsements themselves. If your subcontract requires additional insured status for ongoing and completed operations, ask for the endorsement pages (often CG 20 10 and CG 20 37, or a blanket form) and read what they grant. More in what an additional insured endorsement is.

Red flags worth a phone call

• Fonts or alignment that change inside a row, or a PDF that looks edited
• An agency you can't find anywhere except on the certificate
• An insured that doesn't match the sub's W-9 or the subcontract
• An expiry date that has passed, or one a couple of weeks away with no renewal on file
• ADDL INSD marked "Y" and no endorsement offered when you ask

When something looks off, call the agency at a number you look up yourself, not the one printed on the certificate, and ask them to confirm the policy in writing. How to spot a fake or expired certificate goes further.

From reading one to tracking fifty

1. Collect the certificate, and any endorsements you require, before the sub mobilizes.
2. Log the expiry dates where the whole team can see them.
3. Ask for renewals 30 days or more before each date.
4. Read each renewal fresh. This year's policy may not match last year's.

TradeGuard reads the insurer, policy numbers, dates and limits from each certificate, checks them against your requirements and asks subs for renewals before the dates arrive.

FAQ

What is an ACORD 25?

The standard "Certificate of Liability Insurance" form used in the U.S. to summarize a business's liability policies for a certificate holder.

Does being the certificate holder make me an additional insured?

No. The certificate holder is who the summary was issued to. Additional insured status comes from an endorsement on the policy.

What should I check first on a sub's certificate?

That the insured matches the company on your subcontract. Then the limits, the expiry dates and the endorsements you require.

Can I rely on the certificate alone?

It's a starting point. For additional insured status, waivers of subrogation and similar requirements, collect the endorsements the certificate refers to.