Step 3 of 8
The insurance claim — with a certificate of insurance, not a sentence
How to check it
'Fully insured' on a quote is a sentence; a certificate of insurance (COI) is a document. A COI is a standard summary issued through the contractor's insurance agent that names the insurer, policy numbers, coverage types (general liability, and workers' compensation where carried), limits, and effective dates. The established practice is to request a current COI issued directly to the homeowner as certificate holder — issued that way, the document comes through the insurer's side rather than as a reused photocopy, and some certificate arrangements provide notice if coverage is cancelled. Dates matter: a certificate that expires mid-project answers less than it appears to.
A COI is verified through the issuing agent named on the certificate itself, not through a public registry; there is no statewide COI lookup. Described generically — no carrier is named and none was consulted.
What a pass proves
That a policy existed with those limits on the date the certificate was issued, as stated by the issuing agent — and that the contractor was willing to route the request through its insurer rather than answer it with a photocopy.
What it does NOT prove
A COI is a snapshot, not a promise: it does not prove the policy is still in force at install time, does not itself confer coverage on the homeowner, and says nothing about whether any particular loss would fall within the policy's terms — the policy document controls, always.