Who is going to ask me for a certificate of insurance, and what will they want on it?
Anyone who can be sued for something you do on their property, with their customers, or under their name. In practice that means general contractors, landlords and property managers, venues and event organizers, the businesses you supply as a vendor, licensing bodies, and customers whose homes or goods you handle. What they want on it varies, and the variation is the whole difficulty.
Tell us the situation.
One licensed human replies the same business day — not five agents, not an auto-responder. If the policy you have is already the right one, we will tell you.
We use this to quote and service your insurance, and we do not sell it or pass it to lead networks. Privacy policy.
Send us what you have. We’ll tell you if it’s right.
Your current policy paperwork, a renewal notice, or nothing at all. A licensed agent reads it and replies the same business day.
The detail
The ACORD 25 provides separate sections for general liability, automobile liability, umbrella or excess liability, and workers compensation, so a single certificate can evidence several policies at once.
What this means for you
- General contractors want the endorsement stack, not the certificate: additional insured for ongoing and completed operations, primary and non-contributory wording, and a waiver of subrogation. The certificate is only how they check.
- Landlords and property managers want additional insured status for liability arising out of your use of the premises, and frequently a specific limit written into the lease. Occupied commercial buildings are stricter than construction sites, because their exposure is to a tenant already in the building.
- Venues and event organizers want a certificate naming the venue, the promoter and sometimes the municipality, usually for a single date. These are the most time-pressured requests and the most commonly needed same-day.
- Businesses you supply as a vendor want proof you can pay for a product or service failure: general liability, and often products and completed operations specifically.
- Moving and home-service customers increasingly ask before letting anyone into a building, and building management often requires it before releasing a lift or a loading dock.
- Licensors and regulators want evidence a statutory minimum is in force, and will usually name the exact limit and sometimes the exact form.
Go deeper on any of these
Related questions
- How fast can I get one?
From a broker who holds your policy information, the same business day and usually within the hour. The delay is almost never the insurer. It is getting hold of somebody who can issue it. If you need certificates routinely, it is worth telling your broker up front so the common holders are already on file.
- Do I need workers compensation on the certificate if I have no employees?
You will often be asked for it anyway. General contractors and property managers ask because if you cannot produce it, they may be treated as your employer for the purposes of an injury, and because an uninsured subcontractor lands on their own audit. Where you genuinely have no employees, the answer is usually a certificate showing the policy alongside evidence of your exemption status, which varies by state.
- They rejected my certificate. What is usually wrong with it?
In order of frequency: the holder's legal name or address does not match the contract exactly; the required endorsements are not referenced in the description of operations box; the limits are below what the contract specifies; or the certificate predates the current policy term. All four are fixable in minutes once you know which one it is — send us the rejection and the contract together.
- Is there a charge for a certificate?
No. Issuing certificates is part of servicing the policy, and a broker charging for them is unusual enough to be worth questioning. If you are being charged, or being made to wait days, those are both reasons people move their accounts.
Need this handled?
Reading about it and having it handled are different jobs, and the second one is ours. We place the accounts other brokers decline — claims history, a cancellation, an unusual operation, a business nobody wants to underwrite twice — and we will tell you when the policy you already have is the right one. Tell us the situation and a licensed human replies the same business day.
Written by the licensed brokers at Boring Insurance. Last updated 2026-08-21. See all guides.