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What a certificate of insurance proves, and what it doesn't

An ACORD 25 is a snapshot, not a guarantee. Five things to check on every COI, and how continuous monitoring closes the gap.

Published October 5, 2026. 2 minute read.

A certificate of insurance (usually an ACORD 25) is the most-requested document in contracting and one of the most misunderstood. It's evidence that a policy existed on the day the certificate was issued. It is not the policy, and it doesn't change when the policy does.

Five things to check on every certificate

  1. Named insured. It should match the contractor's legal entity exactly. "Smith Electric" and "Smith Electrical Services LLC" may be different companies.
  2. Policy dates. Check both the effective and expiry dates. A certificate issued last year can look current at a glance.
  3. Limits. Per-occurrence and aggregate for general liability, and whether an umbrella sits on top. A $1M/$2M policy doesn't meet a $2M per-occurrence requirement, even with a big aggregate.
  4. Endorsements. If your contract needs additional insured status, waiver of subrogation or primary and non-contributory wording, the certificate should say so, and ideally the endorsement itself should be attached. The ACORD 25's own disclaimer says the certificate confers no rights.
  5. Workers' comp. Look for an active policy, or a valid state exemption for owner-only firms.

What a certificate can't tell you

  • Whether the policy was cancelled after it was issued. Certificates aren't updated. A policy cancelled for non-payment last month still looks fine on paper.
  • Whether it's genuine. Edited PDFs are easy to make. Look for a broker contact and confirm with them.
  • Whether the insurer is solid. Check the carrier's A.M. Best rating if your rules require one.

How we handle it

On LevelRated, a COI is read by AI into structured fields, checked against the legal entity name, dates and the platform minimum ($1M per occurrence, $2M aggregate by default), and confirmed by an analyst when confidence is lower. We email the broker listed on the certificate to confirm the details; confirmed policies show a Broker Confirmed badge.

We also flag PDFs with signs of editing, and the same file appearing under two different companies.

Then we watch the dates. Contractors get reminders before expiry, and companies monitoring them are alerted at 7 days, 1 day and on the day it lapses. An expired policy caps the contractor's grade at D until it's renewed.

A certificate is a snapshot. Monitoring is what turns it into something you can rely on.