The ACORD 25 is the standard Certificate of Insurance form used across the U.S. and Canada. Property managers receive dozens of these from landscapers, HVAC contractors, and cleaning crews — but the form is dense, and misreading a single field can leave you exposed. Here is a practical field-by-field guide.
Top of the form: producer and insured
- Producer / broker — the agent who issued the certificate; contact them to verify coverage or request endorsements
- Insured — the legal entity covered by the policies; must match your vendor contract
- Certificate holder — often your property management company or HOA; receives notice if policies cancel
Red flag: the insured name is a personal name while your contract is with an LLC, or vice versa. The named insured must match the entity performing work.
Coverage types and limits
Commercial general liability (CGL)
Look at Each Occurrence (per-claim limit) and General Aggregate (total policy limit). Property managers typically require $1M per occurrence minimum. A certificate showing $500K is non-compliant even if the policy is active.
Workers compensation
Should list statutory limits or state-specific amounts. If the vendor has employees and this section is blank or says “Excluded,” do not allow on site without a valid exemption on file. See workers comp verification for details.
Automobile liability
Required for vendors who drive company vehicles to your properties. Check combined single limit (CSL) meets your minimum — often $1M for commercial auto.
Policy numbers and effective dates
Each coverage section lists a policy number and effective/expiration dates. Verify:
- Expiration date is in the future for the entire contract period
- All coverage lines share reasonable date alignment (watch for GL expiring before workers comp)
- The certificate issue date is recent — stale COIs (6+ months old) should be refreshed
Description of operations / special provisions
This box often references additional insured endorsements, waiver of subrogation, or primary/non-contributory language. If your contract requires additional insured status, this section (or a separate endorsement) must confirm it — not just listing you as certificate holder.
Common mistakes property managers make
- Assuming “certificate holder” equals “additional insured” — they are different
- Tracking expiry but not verifying GL limits meet your minimum
- Accepting a COI without workers comp for vendors with crews
- Filing the PDF without reading the Description of Operations box
- Not requesting updated COIs when policies renew mid-contract
Speed up COI review with automation
CertGuard uploads ACORD PDFs and extracts expiry dates, GL limits, workers comp status, and additional insured flags automatically — so you review exceptions, not every field by hand. Try the built-in sample COI after free signup (no credit card).