How to send a certificate of insurance to a general contractor (and stop resending it)

The short version: get the GC’s insurance requirements in writing, have your agent issue a certificate that matches them, check it before you send, keep a record of who has which certificate, and send the new one to every GC the day your policy renews.

1. Get the requirements before you call your agent

Ask the GC for the insurance section of the subcontract or their insurance requirements sheet. You’re looking for the required limits for each coverage, the exact legal name and address to use as the certificate holder, and any endorsements: additional insured, primary and non-contributory, or waiver of subrogation. Getting this up front avoids the most common back-and-forth.

2. Have your agent issue the certificate

Forward the requirements to your agent and ask for a COI made out to the GC, with the endorsements attached if they’re required. If a project name needs to appear, mention it so it goes in the description box.

3. Check it before it leaves your desk

• Is the certificate holder’s name spelled exactly like the contract?
• Do the limits meet or exceed every requirement?
• Are any policy dates already expired, or about to expire?
• Are the required endorsements attached?

4. Send it, and keep a record

Email it to the GC’s contact, usually the project manager or the office person who handles compliance, and note the date. Keep a list of every GC you’ve sent each certificate to. That list is what saves you at renewal time.

5. Resend the day your policy renews

Policies renew yearly, and when yours does, every GC with your old certificate needs the new one. Don’t wait for each GC to notice the old one expired, because that’s often when payments get held. Ask your agent for the renewed certificates as soon as the renewal is bound, and send them all at once.

Doing this without the spreadsheet

TradeOwed handles steps 3 to 5 for you. It reads the dates and limits from each certificate, sends each GC a secure link to your current documents, shows when they opened it, reminds you before anything expires, and sends your renewal to every GC that had the old certificate.

General information, not insurance or legal advice. Your contracts and your agent decide what coverage and endorsements you need.