You have a sub ready to start and an insurance certificate in your inbox. Check who issued it, which business it names, which policies it summarizes, and whether those policies meet your project’s requirements. Resolve open questions with the producer or insurer before you mark the review complete.
Start with the certificate of insurance (COI). In North Carolina, it cannot change the policy or create rights the policy does not provide. G.S. 58-3-149 Use these steps to prepare questions for your licensed insurance adviser. Have the adviser assess coverage.
Set insurance requirements before checking documents
Give your adviser the trade scope, contracting entity, location, expected work dates, and proposed crew and employer arrangement. Include any requirements in your subcontract and any changes from the original bid. Ask the adviser to identify the documents needed to evaluate those requirements.
Keep subcontractor default insurance separate from the sub’s liability and workers’ compensation evidence when discussing protection with your adviser.
Read the COI field guide alongside the additional insured explanation when preparing questions for your adviser.
Do not copy a limit from a different project’s certificate. The actual coverage remains subject to the policy’s conditions and exclusions. Even the standard ACORD certificate warns that listed limits may have been reduced by paid claims. Certificate coverage notice
Create a review list tied to the job. For each requirement, name the document that should support it and the person who will evaluate it. List open requirements rather than marking the whole packet insured.
Ask the producer or insurer to send the certificate
Have the sub authorize its producer or insurer to send current documents to your designated contact. Include your correct business name and the job reference. Ask for the relevant policy provisions or endorsements where your agreement calls for additional insured status or other conditions.
Direct delivery is a suggested process that gives you an issuing contact for follow-up. A certificate forwarded by the contractor is not automatically invalid. You still need to compare its contents with your requirements and confirm it is current.
If contact details or document versions conflict, locate the producer through an independent official business channel. Ask the issuer to explain the discrepancy. Do not change the certificate yourself or tell the sub to type desired coverage into it. NC law prohibits knowingly requesting or issuing certificates that falsely describe or purport to alter the underlying policy. Certificate restrictions
Match the insured to the company doing the work
Compare the named insured with the company that will sign your subcontract. Ask about any operating name, owner name, or related company that differs from the agreement. The ACORD form has separate producer and insured fields; the producer is not the subcontractor being insured. ACORD certificate fields
If another business will supply the labor, disclose that arrangement to your adviser. Ask whose employees perform the work and which documents need review. Do not assume a certificate naming one company resolves coverage questions for every company on site.
Keep the proposed arrangement and the issuer’s response in the job file. If the company structure changes before work starts, check the company names again.
Read the certificate in a consistent order
Use this suggested comparison sheet. The fields listed below appear on the ACORD liability certificate. Use the right column to prepare questions. It does not tell you whether a policy covers the job.
Scroll to read all columns.
| Field | Compare with | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Named insured | Signing company and disclosed labor employer | Is this the intended insured entity? |
| Insurer and policy number | Issuer’s current evidence | Are these the current policies being confirmed? |
| Coverage type | Your adviser’s project requirements | Which policy addresses each required exposure? |
| Effective and expiration dates | Planned work and renewal dates | What happens if the work crosses renewal? |
| Listed limits | Contract requirements | How should each limit be interpreted? |
| Operations or locations | Scope and job reference | Does relevant policy language restrict this work? |
| Certificate holder | Your correct entity and delivery address | Who receives this summary? |
| Additional insured indications | Requested protection | Which actual provisions or endorsements apply? |
Review every required policy line. A filled general liability row does not settle a workers’ compensation question. Likewise, a job description in the remarks is not itself a policy change. Certificate and policy distinction
Confirm workers’ compensation separately
Use the official NCIC coverage search to compare the employer and relevant dates. Keep the search result with the other evidence, but do not use it as the only proof.
The Commission states that coverage information is not proof of insurance. Its database may omit cancellations or reinstatements not yet reported, or reported within the last 30 days. That warning does not promise that every record becomes current after 30 days. NCIC coverage-data warning
Ask the employer or insurer for current confirmation. Before subletting work, get advice on G.S. 97-19’s certificate timing and policy conditions. Its upstream liability provisions can apply to a sub’s employees despite a headcount below three. Principal-contractor liability statute
If the owner says there are no employees but plans to bring workers, review that answer carefully. Give your adviser the actual labor arrangement, not a label carried over from the bid.
Get policy wording for additional insured requirements
Being the certificate holder does not itself make you an additional insured. The ACORD notice says the policy must contain the applicable additional insured provisions or be endorsed. Request that supporting language. ACORD important notice
Ask your adviser whether the wording covers the intended company, work, and period. Useful questions include whether protection applies to ongoing work, completed work, or both, and whether written-contract conditions apply. The answers depend on the policy wording supplied.
The Texas insurance regulator explains that agents or insurers can provide policy or endorsement copies. It also describes asking about specific policy language or exclusions. Its legal rules apply to Texas; the document-review method helps frame a request without treating a certificate as the policy. TDI questions 3 and 12
Set dates to check renewals and changes
Record the earliest policy expiration affecting your work. Assign someone to request and review replacement documents. If the job runs longer than planned, revisit the dates and the adviser’s questions.
Recheck after an entity change, a different labor employer, a revised scope, or notice of cancellation. Keep old and new documents labeled so the next reviewer can identify which period each concerns.
Do not assume that being a certificate holder guarantees cancellation notice. In NC, that right depends on being named in the policy or endorsement and on its notice requirements. Ask the adviser to identify the applicable language. G.S. 58-3-149(e)
Record what is confirmed and what is missing
Record: documents received, entity matched, issuer contacted, adviser reviewed, and remaining questions. Include dates and the person responsible for each follow-up. Describe what was confirmed without promising protection against every possible loss.
If coverage cannot be confirmed, leave the start approval pending while the responsible people resolve it. If work already started or an incident occurred, contact your insurer and attorney with the actual timeline. A replacement certificate does not let you decide whether the earlier work was covered.
Use the certificate field guide when a summary entry is unclear. Use subcontractor workers’ compensation for the separate NC headcount and subcontracting questions.
Use the subcontractor vetting workflow to assign the evidence check before the package is awarded.
Where Cercha fits
Cercha profiles can show Workers’ Comp and Liability badges alongside work photos and endorsements. The app displays a warning about coverage freshness and directs users to verify with the employer or insurer. Use the profile to begin the conversation, then complete the issuer and policy review separately.
More guides for builders and vetting and credentials.