Certificate of insurance

You collect one from every subcontractor before they are paid, and you collect it for both general liability and workers compensation — they are separate coverages and a sub can carry one without the other.

The dates are the part that catches people. A certificate that expired in June does not cover work done in September, so expiry tracking matters as much as collection. Many carriers also require a sub’s limits to be at least equal to yours, and a certificate showing lower limits may be treated as no certificate at all.

Why it matters to a contractor

This is the single largest finding in both the workers compensation and general liability premium audits. A sub you cannot produce a valid certificate for is typically added to your own payroll or receipts at your rate, retroactively — and on a high-rate trade classification that one gap can be a five-figure bill.

All terms