A certificate of insurance (COI) is a document that verifies you have business liability insurance coverage and condenses crucial information about your policy into one page.
A certificate of general liability insurance is the document you present when someone asks for proof of insurance – often when you are signing a contract with a new client, leasing commercial property, or applying for a professional license.
Insurance certificates ease business transactions. It's how you're able to show potential business partners, clients, landlords, and others that an insurer protects your business. A COI is proof that your finances are partially protected by commercial general liability insurance.
Here are some situations where you might need a certificate of liability insurance:
A client requires it. Clients want to know that if you damage their property or cause them to suffer a bodily injury, you'll have business insurance to cover the damages. Typically, when you work with a larger company, they'll require insurance.
Your landlord requires general liability insurance. Many leases state that you need to have fire legal liability coverage, which is often included with general liability insurance. If a fire at your business causes property damage, your policy can help pay for repairs.
You apply for professional licenses. If you apply for certain professional licenses, such as a contractor's license, local laws may require you to have general liability insurance.
If you need proof of errors and omissions insurance or workers' compensation and employer's liability, your insurance certificate can verify that, too.
General liability insurance costs an average of $42 per month. Your cost is based on a few factors, including:
A certificate usually lists the following information about your general liability insurance policy:
To see what one looks like, check out this sample ACORD certificate of liability insurance [PDF].
To obtain a certificate of liability insurance, you must have an active insurance policy. If you don't have coverage, you can complete Insureon's easy online insurance application to get quotes from top-rated carriers.
Choose the general liability policy that best matches your needs, and an Insureon agent can help finalize your policy details. Once your policy is active, you'll receive a certificate of liability insurance.
If you already have an active policy, contact your Insureon agent or log in to your account with our Customer Portal to download or request a certificate.
Complete Insureon’s easy online application today to compare general liability insurance quotes from top-rated U.S. providers. Once you find the right policy for your small business, you can begin coverage in less than 24 hours.
Once you have you coverage, you can download or request a general liability certificate from our Customer Portal. Insureon can additionally help you secure a errors and omissions insurance certificate, workers' compensation insurance certificate, or any other insurance coverage that you need.