General liability insurance certificate

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. A COI shows potential business partners, clients, landlords, and others that the certificate holder is protected financially by commercial general liability insurance or another type of coverage.

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.

Insurance certificates can verify other types of insurance as well, such as errors and omissions insurance (E&O), workers' compensation insurance, commercial property insurance, copyright infringement insurance and railroad protective liability insurance, which may be required when performing work near railroad property.

A certificate usually lists the following information about your general liability insurance policy:

• The name of the insured
• The name of your insurance company
• Your general liability policy number
• Indication of whether the policy includes an additional insured or a waiver of subrogation
• Policy effective date and expiration date
• Policy limits, including a per-occurrence limit and an aggregate limit
• Policy deductible
• A description of operations, locations, and vehicles

The most common COI is the ACORD 25 form. To see what one looks like, check out this sample ACORD certificate of liability insurance [PDF].

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 helps small business owners buy all the types of insurance policies they need, such as professional liability insurance, commercial automobile liability insurance, employer’s liability insurance, and more.