What a certificate of insurance does and does not do
A certificate of insurance summarizes the coverage in place on the day it is issued. Standard forms such as the ACORD 25 for liability state on their face that the certificate confers no rights and does not amend, extend or alter the policy. Additional insured status, waivers of subrogation and primary and non-contributory wording come from endorsements on the policy. Putting them on a certificate when the policy lacks them causes trouble for the client, the holder and the agency.
So certificate work suits an assistant who follows the rules exactly and passes along anything outside them.
A COI request workflow that holds up
- Intake. Requests come into one shared mailbox or portal queue rather than personal inboxes. Each is logged with client, holder, project and due date.
- Check the request. Compare what the holder wants (limits, additional insured, waiver, notice of cancellation wording) with the endorsements actually on the policy.
- Issue or escalate. If the policy supports everything requested, issue from an agency-approved template. If it doesn't, send it to the account manager or producer with a note on what is missing.
- Record. Attach the certificate to the client file and add the holder to the holder list, so renewals can be reissued in one batch.
- Renewal reissue. When the policy renews, reissue to every active holder and check that the dates changed.
Can unlicensed staff issue certificates of insurance?
It depends on your state and your carriers. Many agencies let trained unlicensed staff issue certificates that match approved templates exactly, and have licensed staff handle any request that involves interpreting coverage or adding endorsements. Some states and carriers are stricter. Check your state's position with the insurance department or your compliance adviser, then write the rule into the playbook. Our licensing approach covers the general line we work to.
Rule of thumb for the playbook: if a request needs a judgment about what the policy covers, the assistant doesn't make it.
What your agency provides for certificate handling
- Access to the certificate module in your AMS or certificate platform, with templates locked to approved wording.
- A list of clients with blanket additional insured or waiver endorsements, with the exact form numbers.
- Escalation contacts for each account and a target response time for routine requests.
Endorsement requests that come out of certificate work are tracked the same way as other policy changes.
Certificate of insurance questions
Can the assistant add an additional insured to a policy?
They can prepare the endorsement request and submit it to the carrier once a licensed person approves it. They don't decide whether it should be added, and they don't tell the holder it is in place before the carrier confirms.
What about holders who want the certificate wording changed?
Those requests go to licensed staff. Editing a certificate to say something the policy does not say is not clerical work.
How are certificates reissued at renewal?
From the holder list. When the policy renews, the assistant reissues certificates to every active holder on that list and confirms the new policy dates appear on each one.
Tell us your monthly certificate volume and the platform you issue from.
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