How to Read a Certificate of Insurance: Step-by-Step Guide

Knowing that you need a certificate of insurance is straightforward. Knowing how to actually read one -- and spot the errors and red flags that create liability exposure -- is a different skill.

This guide walks through every section of an ACORD 25 certificate of insurance in the order it appears on the form. By the end, you will know what each field means, what values are acceptable, and what should stop a COI in its tracks.

What You Are Looking At

The ACORD 25 is a one-page standardized form. "ACORD" stands for Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development, a nonprofit that produces standardized forms for the insurance industry. The 25 refers to the form number. The current version is the 2016 edition.

The form is divided into six main areas:

1. Producer information (top left)
2. Insured information (top right)
3. Coverage detail (center -- the largest section)
4. Description of operations (center-bottom)
5. Certificate holder (bottom left)
6. Authorized signature (bottom right)

Work through each in order.

Step 1: Verify the Producer

The producer box in the upper left identifies the insurance agency or brokerage that issued the certificate. This is not the insurer -- it is the middleman who sold and administered the policy.

What to look for: The producer's name, address, and contact information. Note this information so you can reach the broker directly if you need to verify coverage details or request an updated certificate.

Red flag: A certificate issued by an unfamiliar email service, a personal email address, or without a formal brokerage name. Fraudulent COIs are sometimes created outside of legitimate brokerage systems.

Step 2: Confirm the Insured Name and Address

The "Insured" box in the upper right identifies the entity whose coverage is documented on the certificate.

What to look for: The exact legal name of the vendor you contracted with. Entity type matters. "ABC Landscaping LLC" is legally distinct from "ABC Landscaping Inc." or "ABC Landscaping" without a suffix.

Red flag: Any variation in the insured's legal name from your contract. A mismatch means the COI may be documenting coverage for a different legal entity than the one performing work on your property. Request a corrected certificate that matches your contract exactly.

Red flag: The insured's address lists a state different from where work will be performed, and the coverage section does not include the relevant jurisdiction. Some specialty coverage like Workers' Compensation is state-specific.

Step 3: Review the Coverage Types

The central section of the form lists coverage by type. Each policy line includes the policy number, effective date, expiration date, and applicable limits.

Commercial General Liability (CGL)

This is the most fundamental coverage line for any vendor performing physical work.

What to look for:

• "Commercial General Liability" or "CGL" checked
• "Occurrence" form (preferred) vs. "Claims Made" form (acceptable with additional conditions)
• Policy effective date in the past
• Policy expiration date in the future and covering the full period of the vendor's work
• Each Occurrence limit at or above your contract requirement (commonly $1M)
• General Aggregate limit at or above your contract requirement (commonly $2M)
• Products-Completed Operations Aggregate relevant for contractors
• Personal and Advertising Injury limit present

Red flag: "Claims Made" form without a retroactive date that extends back to when the vendor first performed work for you. Claims-made policies only cover claims filed while the policy is active -- past work may not be covered if the policy lapses.

Red flag: Limits below your contract thresholds. If your vendor agreement requires $1 million per occurrence and the COI shows $500,000, the vendor is non-compliant. Do not approve site access.

Automobile Liability

Required for any vendor who drives vehicles as part of performing their work.

What to look for:

• "Any Auto" coverage (preferred) or a combination of owned, hired, and non-owned coverage
• Combined single limit of at least $1 million

Red flag: Only "Owned Autos Only" coverage when the vendor's employees use personal vehicles. Non-owned auto coverage is the line that protects you when a vendor employee uses their own vehicle.

Umbrella / Excess Liability

Provides additional limits above the underlying primary policies.

What to look for: Follows form (meaning the umbrella covers the same risks as underlying policies), excess over General Liability and Auto Liability at minimum.

Red flag: No umbrella coverage for high-risk trades such as roofing, structural work, or demolition, where claims frequently exceed primary limits.

Workers' Compensation and Employer's Liability

What to look for:

• Workers' Compensation listed with statutory limits (meaning the state-mandated minimums)
• Employer's Liability limits of $100,000/$500,000/$100,000 or higher
• Waiver of Subrogation in favor of your entity

Red flag: Workers' Compensation showing as "Excluded" or absent for any vendor with W-2 employees. If the vendor is a sole proprietor, some states allow WC exclusion for the owner -- confirm this and document it.

Red flag: No waiver of subrogation. Without this, the vendor's Workers' Compensation carrier can sue your organization to recover claim payments made to an injured worker.

Step 4: Check Additional Insured and Waiver Checkboxes

Look for two columns of checkboxes to the right of each coverage line: one for "Additional Insured" and one for "Waiver of Subrogation."

What to look for:

• Additional Insured box checked on the Commercial General Liability line
• Waiver of Subrogation box checked on the Workers' Compensation line
• For construction vendors: Additional Insured checked on Umbrella/Excess as well

Critical caveat: A checkbox on the COI is not proof that the endorsement exists or is properly worded. The checkbox indicates the producer's assertion that the endorsement has been added to the policy. For full verification, request the actual endorsement page. See our guide on additional insured endorsements for more detail.

Step 5: Read the Description of Operations

This free-text field in the center-bottom of the form is where specific qualifications, project references, additional insured language, and waivers are often spelled out. It is the section most often skimmed and most often where problems hide.

What to look for:

• Reference to your specific project, property, or contract
• Additional insured language that names your entity and, ideally, cites the endorsement form number (CG 20 10, CG 20 37)
• Waiver of subrogation language
• Any limiting language that could restrict coverage

Red flags in the Description of Operations:

• "Additional insured per written contract only" without any reference to your contract -- this shifts the burden to prove a written contract exists
• Project-specific limitations that exclude work performed on properties not listed
• Language that restricts coverage to a single incident or location when you need ongoing coverage
• Any sentence that begins with "Coverage does not apply to..." -- read this carefully

Step 6: Verify the Certificate Holder

The bottom left of the form contains your entity's name and address.

What to look for: Your organization's exact legal name and correct mailing address.

Red flag: A different entity listed as certificate holder. If the certificate was issued for a different job or client and the vendor is attempting to reuse it, the document is not issued for your benefit.

Red flag: An outdated legal entity name for your organization. If you have rebranded or restructured, the certificate holder name must reflect your current legal entity.

Step 7: Note the Authorized Signature

The bottom right corner contains the signature of the authorized representative of the insurance producer. This confirms that a licensed agent has issued the certificate.

Red flag: No signature, a stamped signature, or a certificate that appears computer-generated without identifying the issuing broker's license number.

Quick-Reference Checklist

Run through these 10 checks on every COI you receive:

1. Named insured matches your contract exactly
2. All required coverage types are present
3. Policy effective dates are current and cover the work period
4. All limits meet or exceed your requirements
5. CGL is occurrence form (or claims-made with adequate retroactive date)
6. Additional insured checkbox is checked on the CGL line
7. Waiver of subrogation checkbox is checked on Workers' Compensation
8. Description of Operations does not contain limiting language
9. Certificate holder is your entity with correct legal name
10. Endorsement documentation (CG 20 10 / CG 20 37) has been requested or received

The Limits of Manual Review

Reading COIs manually is manageable when you have 10 vendors. At 100 vendors, each with multiple policies and annual renewals, even skilled reviewers miss things under workload pressure. Data shows that manual COI review produces error rates of 5% to 15% -- meaning 5 to 15 out of every 100 certificates contain errors that are not caught before the vendor is approved.

COIPulse's automated COI grader extracts every field from an ACORD 25 document, compares it against your specific requirements, and flags every deficiency in seconds. For property management companies handling dozens to hundreds of vendor relationships, this transforms COI review from an error-prone manual process to a systematic compliance operation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most important field on a certificate of insurance?

There is no single most important field -- each serves a different function. However, the most commonly misread fields are the named insured (where entity mismatches create gaps) and the coverage limits (where vendors submit certificates that do not meet contract requirements). After those, the additional insured status and waiver of subrogation notations are critical.

How do I know if an additional insured endorsement is actually in place?

The checkbox on the COI is the producer's representation that an endorsement exists, but it is not the endorsement itself. The only way to confirm the endorsement is in place and properly worded is to request the endorsement page from the vendor's broker. The most common forms are CG 20 10 (ongoing operations) and CG 20 37 (completed operations).

What is the difference between per-occurrence and aggregate limits?

The per-occurrence limit is the maximum the insurer will pay for any single claim. The aggregate limit is the maximum total the insurer will pay across all claims during the policy period. A $1M/$2M policy pays up to $1 million per incident and no more than $2 million total during the policy year.

Can I accept a certificate that is a few days expired?

No. An expired certificate provides no coverage evidence. Request an updated certificate immediately and do not authorize site access until one is received. Even a one-day lapse represents unverified coverage.

What does "claims-made" mean and why does it matter?

A claims-made policy only covers claims reported while the policy is active. An occurrence policy covers any incident that occurred during the policy period, regardless of when the claim is filed. For contractors, occurrence form is preferred because claims for completed work often surface years later. If a vendor carries claims-made coverage, you need to verify that the retroactive date and tail coverage are adequate.

---

Reviewing COIs manually takes time and produces errors. COIPulse automates extraction, comparison against your requirements, and deficiency flagging -- so your team can focus on exceptions, not data entry. Start a free trial or grade your vendor COIs right now.