Workflows

Subcontractor COI

the certificate of insurance a subcontractor provides to prove it carries the coverage and endorsements its subcontract requires

The job in one minute

What it produces

A current, checked compliance record for every subcontract, with certificates and endorsements on file and every policy date tracked until completed-operations coverage ends.

Who owns it

The subcontract administrator, with the PM, purchasing, legal, AP and risk.

How often

At award, then daily or weekly tracking for the life of the job and beyond.

Why it hurts

The certificate arrives; the endorsements do not. The named insured is a trade name, not the company that signed. The additional-insured box is checked with no endorsement behind it. A policy renews on the 1st, the new certificate arrives on the 20th, and an invoice got paid in between. Insurers do not have to tell you about a cancellation, so lapses only surface if someone is actively tracking. Every gap is a broker call, repeated at every renewal of every policy of every sub.

Systems it touches

The ERP's compliance records, Outlook, Excel exhibit matrices, SharePoint, DocuSign or Adobe Sign, broker and vendor portals, and Procore's compliance tab.

COI tracking services may be cheaper per certificate at very high volume. The agent's edge is the join: one check carried into every system that needs it.

  • ERP
  • Procore
  • AP hold list
  • Pay app review

12 steps · 7 actions · 3 decisions · 2 human reviews

The workflow, step by step

Action Decision Human review Select a step in the flowchart to jump to it.

Related recordingSubcontract compliance and payment hold in Trimble Viewpoint Spectrum
  1. Action · Agent

    At award, load the insurance exhibit into the requirements table: coverages, limits, endorsement forms, completed-operations period, wrap-up flag.

  2. Action · Agent

    Request the certificate and each endorsement from the sub's broker.

  3. Action · Agent

    Read the certificate: named insured, insurers, policy numbers, dates, limits, boxes, holder.

  4. Action · EDI

    Read each endorsement: form and edition, named insured, scope, waiver wording.

  5. Decision · Agent

    Named insured matches the subcontract entity, every limit meets the table, every policy is current, each required form is present, holder is correct.

  6. Human review · Gaps go

    Gaps go to the subcontract administrator; non-standard endorsements go to legal or risk.

  7. Action · ERP

    Update the ERP compliance record and attach the documents.

  8. Action · Agent

    Send the sub and broker one notice listing every gap.

  9. Decision · Agent

    A policy inside the renewal window triggers a request; an expired one flags AP and the pay app review.

  10. Action · Agent

    Run renewals back through steps 3 to 7.

  11. Decision · Agent

    At closeout, completed-operations evidence must cover the period the exhibit requires.

  12. Human review · Risk reviews

    Risk reviews the monthly report of open gaps, lapses and any payment made during a lapse.

✓ Done

Rules vs judgment

  1. Exact rules

    • Limits, policy dates against today and invoice dates, named insured, renewal windows, the hold flag.
  2. The model reads

    • Certificates from hundreds of brokers, endorsement forms and editions, blanket endorsement wording, umbrella schedules, "endorsement to follow" emails. A rule still decides.
  3. A person decides

    • Whether a non-standard form is equivalent, lower limits for a small scope, working through a lapse, and high deductibles.

When it stops

  • Certificate names a different entity

    Fails before any record changes.

    red
  • Broker says "endorsement to follow"

    Logged as pending; the requirement stays unmet until it arrives.

    amber
  • Additional-insured box checked, no endorsement

    A notice requests the named form.

    green
  • Unreadable scan

    Review with the image; no dates are guessed.

    red
  • Payment scheduled while a policy is expired

    AP sees the flag; release needs an override with a reason.

    amber

What you end up with

Every subcontract shows a green, amber or red compliance status that is actually backed by the endorsements, renewals that land before expiry, one deficiency notice per sub instead of a dozen calls, and a monthly report that shows risk exactly where it stands. Product →

Questions

Is a certificate enough to prove additional-insured status?

No. The certificate describes; the endorsement grants. Require and check each endorsement the exhibit names.

How early should renewals be requested?

Early enough that a slow broker still lands before expiry. Set the window, watch it for a quarter and adjust.

What happens when a policy lapses mid-job?

The agent flags AP and the pay app review the same day and re-sends the renewal request. Whether the sub keeps working is a person's call. Sub Pay App Review →

No prompts. No babysitting. No Integrations.

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