Understanding COIs - Certificate Holder vs. Additional Insured (2024)

FAQs

Understanding COIs - Certificate Holder vs. Additional Insured? ›

Basically, an Additional Insured is another individual or business the policyholder adds to an insurance policy, who is entitled to the same coverage benefits. A certificate holder receives verification of insurance and notifications of any changes made to a policy but is not covered by the policy.

An insurance certificate holder receives a copy of every claim made against the policy. They also receive a copy of any correspondence between the insurer and the policyholder. An additional insured receives only a copy of the claims made against the policy in which they are named.

For example, one field is labeled “certificate holder.” The certificate holder is the party the certificate of insurance is provided to. So if you're hiring someone, and you requested the COI, then you're the certificate holder.

You may be interested in adding an additional insured to the certificate of insurance. If you want to add additional insured coverage, you should talk with your legal counsel or your insurance agent or broker to determine what you need to do.

A named insured is entitled to 100% of the benefits and coverage provided by the policy. An additional insured is someone who is not the owner of the policy but who, under certain circ*mstances, may be entitled to some of the benefits and a certain amount of coverage under the policy.

A certificate holder is someone that takes receipt or evidence of the COI. The certificate holder is the party to which the certificate of insurance is provided to. So if you're hiring someone, and you requested the COI, then you're the certificate holder.

A Certificate Holder is a person or organization to whom the certificate is being provided as evidence of insurance. In the commercial real estate space, the Certificate Holder is typically required to be the landlord, property manager, or both.

Who Should Be Added as an Additional Insured? A person or group at risk of being sued due to a connection to the primary insured's business or operations should be added as an additional insured. Examples include a landlord added to a tenant's coverage or a contractor added to a subcontractor's coverage, among others.

A COI is a document used to provide evidence of insurance coverage. The certificate is a snapshot that provides verification of the insurance currently in place and typically includes type of coverage, limits, policy term, policy number, and carrier name, among other information.

In general, adding endorsem*nts can increase the cost of business insurance. But the cost of adding an additional insured depends on your insurance provider. Thimble, for example, says customers can add additional insureds for free.

When should you be added as an additional insured? ›

A named insured's impetus for providing additional insured status to others may be a desire to protect the other party because of a close relationship with that party (e.g., wanting to protect church members performing services for the insured church) or to comply with a contractual agreement requiring the named ...

Why would a company or person ask to become an additional insured? It boils down to larger businesses having less financial risk if something unanticipated happens. It may seem unfair, but it's a way for them to protect their own business in exchange for hiring the small business.

On general liability insurance, the person or entity that has requested and received a COI will count as a certificate holder. For a particular project or job, there could be multiple certificate holders if there are multiple entities that have insurance requirements.

There is also a risk of being under-insured or uninsured as additional insureds. Second, there is the risk of breaching a contract, thus potentially becoming the insurer of the other party when they are the party obligated to provide additional insured coverage.

What does it mean to be an Additional Insured? An Additional Insured person or organization added by endorsem*nt to a liability insurance policy is considered an insured under that policy and therefore can enjoy the benefits of that policy.

An additional named insured is someone other than the named insured who shares full coverage under the policy. Additional named insureds are often added after the named insured's policy has already begun, and may be listed in an addendum to the contract.

An additional insured extends liability insurance coverage beyond the named insured to include other individuals or groups. An additional insured endorsem*nt protects the additional insured under the named insurer's policy allowing them to file a claim if sued.

State Fund limits each certificate to one holder.

Producer: The name of the insurer, agent, or broker who handled the insurance purchase and issued the certificate to the insured. The field should include the name and the business address. Insured: This field refers to the policyholder.