Insurance Certificate Compliance Check
Compares Access Agreement insurance requirements to COI and endorsement evidence to produce a defensible compliance determination with actionable deficit remediation.
Prerequisites
- Access Agreement (final) with insurance clause, exhibits, and amendments
- COIs for all required lines: CGL, auto, WC/EL, umbrella, specialty
- Endorsement copies: AI, completed-ops AI, primary/non-contributory, waiver of subrogation, umbrella schedule
- Recipient legal names, required AI entities, project scope
- Access dates, locations, post-completion carry-forward period
- Governing law / jurisdiction
- Delivery recipients and privilege instructions
Quick Start
- Extract all insurance requirements from the agreement into a requirements matrix
- Run COI baseline checks against each requirement
- Verify endorsement-level evidence for every core element — COI text alone is non-binding
- Assess risk and coverage-structure gaps
- Apply jurisdiction-specific considerations
- Output compliance determination with deficit list
Workflow
Step 1: Build Requirements Matrix
Extract from agreement into normalized rows:
| Category |
Extract |
Normalize to |
| Coverage types |
CGL, auto, WC/EL, umbrella, specialty |
[line]: [form/limits/scope] |
| Limits |
Occurrence, aggregate, products-completed, per location/project |
Numeric minimums + frequency |
| AI scope |
Named entities and affiliates |
Exact legal names + ongoing/completed |
| Priority terms |
Primary/non-contributory |
Which policies/lines |
| Waiver of subrogation |
Which lines require waiver |
CGL/WC/auto/property |
| Notice/ratings |
Cancellation notice, AM Best, insurer status |
Required evidence |
| Special clauses |
Exclusions, endorsements by form number |
Must be checked |
Flag vague clauses (acceptable, sufficient, as required by owner) as Attorney Clarification Required.
Step 2: COI Baseline Checks
These are information-only — not proof of coverage:
- Named insured matches recipient entity exactly (name + suffix + related entity logic)
- Policy period covers access window
- Required coverages and limits appear in correct fields
- Occurrence vs claims-made confirmed
- Aggregate designations align (
per occurrence, per location, per project)
- Producer/broker contact present
- Red flags: expired/expiring policies, wrong entity, missing policy numbers
If incomplete, set Conditionally Compliant and list missing documents.
Step 3: Endorsement Verification
COI text alone is non-binding. Require endorsement-level evidence for each:
| Element |
Required |
Common failure |
| Additional insured |
Endorsement naming exact entities |
Blanket AI with entity mismatch |
| Completed-ops AI |
Separate completed-ops endorsement |
Only ongoing AI provided |
| Primary/non-contributory |
PNC clause/endorsement for AI |
PNC on COI only |
| Umbrella alignment |
AI/PNC in underlying + umbrella schedule |
No schedule showing extension |
| Waiver of subrogation |
Endorsement on required lines |
Narrative in COI only |
| Cancellation notice |
Enforceable mechanism documented |
Reliance on ACORD boilerplate only |
Step 4: Risk and Coverage-Structure Checks
- Verify minimum limits vs exposed values per line and project
- Compute combined limits where umbrella augments GL/auto/EL
- Check for coverage-exclusion conflicts (geographic, type-of-work, access-specific)
- Review deductibles/SIR if high-risk or large retention (from declarations/broker attestation)
- Confirm insurer rating with explicit evidence
Step 5: Jurisdiction Adaptation
Apply [VERIFY] to all jurisdiction-specific conclusions:
- New York: Construction gravity-risk and labor-law exclusions
[VERIFY]
- Texas: Anti-indemnity impact on AI enforcement
[VERIFY]
- California: Active-negligence/AI enforceability constraints
[VERIFY]
- Florida: Policy disclosure and insurer-info rights
[VERIFY]
If governing law is uncertain, mark all jurisdictional conclusions as requires legal verification.
Step 6: Output
Result: [Compliant | Conditionally Compliant | Non-Compliant]
Jurisdiction: [state]
Coverage period tested: [start] to [end]
Review confidence: [High | Medium | Low]
Requirements Matrix:
- Requirement | Evidence | Status | Finding | Deficiency
- ...
Escalation: [In-house counsel / Risk manager / Coverage counsel]
Access decision: [Recommend allow / conditional / deny pending docs]
Use entity-name exactness and numeric precision ($1,000,000 each occurrence, CG 20 37).
Critical Guardrails
- COI statements are documentary indication, not contractual proof
- Never state "fully covered" without endorsement/policy support
Certificate holder ≠ additional insured — never conflate
- Never infer AI scope from checkbox or Description of Operations alone
- For each deficit, provide precise broker instruction: exact endorsement form/edition and deadline
- Track status as
confirmed, indicated-not-verified, or not shown
- This is a risk-control assessment, not a coverage legal opinion
- Include attorney review requirement before operational reliance
- If access allowed with unresolved deficits, document written exception and mitigation
- If anti-indemnity/statutory effects drive outcome, escalate immediately
- Use
[VERIFY] on all uncited or uncertain authority claims
1---2name: insurance-certificate-compliance-check3description: Performs contract-driven compliance review of insurance certificates and endorsements against CRE/site-access and vendor agreement requirements. Produces pass/fail/conditional determinations, deficit lists, and broker-ready remediation instructions. Use when reviewing COI packets, ACORD 25 forms, or endorsements for additional insured, primary and non-contributory, waiver of subrogation, completed operations, umbrella alignment, limits adequacy, or insurer rating compliance. Trigger terms: COI, ACORD, additional insured, certificate holder, cancellation notice.4---56# Insurance Certificate Compliance Check78Compares Access Agreement insurance requirements to COI and endorsement evidence to produce a defensible compliance determination with actionable deficit remediation.910## Prerequisites11121. Access Agreement (final) with insurance clause, exhibits, and amendments132. COIs for all required lines: CGL, auto, WC/EL, umbrella, specialty143. Endorsement copies: AI, completed-ops AI, primary/non-contributory, waiver of subrogation, umbrella schedule154. Recipient legal names, required AI entities, project scope165. Access dates, locations, post-completion carry-forward period176. Governing law / jurisdiction187. Delivery recipients and privilege instructions1920## Quick Start21221. Extract all insurance requirements from the agreement into a requirements matrix232. Run COI baseline checks against each requirement243. Verify endorsement-level evidence for every core element — COI text alone is non-binding254. Assess risk and coverage-structure gaps265. Apply jurisdiction-specific considerations276. Output compliance determination with deficit list2829## Workflow3031### Step 1: Build Requirements Matrix3233Extract from agreement into normalized rows:3435| Category | Extract | Normalize to |36|---|---|---|37| Coverage types | CGL, auto, WC/EL, umbrella, specialty | `[line]: [form/limits/scope]` |38| Limits | Occurrence, aggregate, products-completed, per location/project | Numeric minimums + frequency |39| AI scope | Named entities and affiliates | Exact legal names + ongoing/completed |40| Priority terms | Primary/non-contributory | Which policies/lines |41| Waiver of subrogation | Which lines require waiver | CGL/WC/auto/property |42| Notice/ratings | Cancellation notice, AM Best, insurer status | Required evidence |43| Special clauses | Exclusions, endorsements by form number | Must be checked |4445Flag vague clauses (`acceptable`, `sufficient`, `as required by owner`) as **Attorney Clarification Required**.4647### Step 2: COI Baseline Checks4849These are information-only — not proof of coverage:50511. Named insured matches recipient entity exactly (name + suffix + related entity logic)522. Policy period covers access window533. Required coverages and limits appear in correct fields544. Occurrence vs claims-made confirmed555. Aggregate designations align (`per occurrence`, `per location`, `per project`)566. Producer/broker contact present577. Red flags: expired/expiring policies, wrong entity, missing policy numbers5859If incomplete, set `Conditionally Compliant` and list missing documents.6061### Step 3: Endorsement Verification6263COI text alone is non-binding. Require endorsement-level evidence for each:6465| Element | Required | Common failure |66|---|---|---|67| Additional insured | Endorsement naming exact entities | Blanket AI with entity mismatch |68| Completed-ops AI | Separate completed-ops endorsement | Only ongoing AI provided |69| Primary/non-contributory | PNC clause/endorsement for AI | PNC on COI only |70| Umbrella alignment | AI/PNC in underlying + umbrella schedule | No schedule showing extension |71| Waiver of subrogation | Endorsement on required lines | Narrative in COI only |72| Cancellation notice | Enforceable mechanism documented | Reliance on ACORD boilerplate only |7374### Step 4: Risk and Coverage-Structure Checks75761. Verify minimum limits vs exposed values per line and project772. Compute combined limits where umbrella augments GL/auto/EL783. Check for coverage-exclusion conflicts (geographic, type-of-work, access-specific)794. Review deductibles/SIR if high-risk or large retention (from declarations/broker attestation)805. Confirm insurer rating with explicit evidence8182### Step 5: Jurisdiction Adaptation8384Apply `[VERIFY]` to all jurisdiction-specific conclusions:8586- **New York**: Construction gravity-risk and labor-law exclusions `[VERIFY]`87- **Texas**: Anti-indemnity impact on AI enforcement `[VERIFY]`88- **California**: Active-negligence/AI enforceability constraints `[VERIFY]`89- **Florida**: Policy disclosure and insurer-info rights `[VERIFY]`9091If governing law is uncertain, mark all jurisdictional conclusions as **requires legal verification**.9293### Step 6: Output9495```96Result: [Compliant | Conditionally Compliant | Non-Compliant]97Jurisdiction: [state]98Coverage period tested: [start] to [end]99Review confidence: [High | Medium | Low]100101Requirements Matrix:102- Requirement | Evidence | Status | Finding | Deficiency103- ...104105Escalation: [In-house counsel / Risk manager / Coverage counsel]106Access decision: [Recommend allow / conditional / deny pending docs]107```108109Use entity-name exactness and numeric precision (`$1,000,000 each occurrence`, `CG 20 37`).110111## Critical Guardrails112113- COI statements are documentary indication, not contractual proof114- Never state "fully covered" without endorsement/policy support115- `Certificate holder` ≠ `additional insured` — never conflate116- Never infer AI scope from checkbox or Description of Operations alone117- For each deficit, provide precise broker instruction: exact endorsement form/edition and deadline118- Track status as `confirmed`, `indicated-not-verified`, or `not shown`119- This is a **risk-control assessment**, not a coverage legal opinion120- Include attorney review requirement before operational reliance121- If access allowed with unresolved deficits, document written exception and mitigation122- If anti-indemnity/statutory effects drive outcome, escalate immediately123- Use `[VERIFY]` on all uncited or uncertain authority claims