The COI Dictionary
The words that decide who pays
One entry per term: what it means, how it shows up on a certificate, what to check and where it usually breaks. Form numbers included.
- Certificate of insurance (COI)A one-page summary of a contractor's insurance at the moment it was issued.ACORD 25
- Additional insured (AI)A person or company added to someone else's liability policy, usually the owner and the general contractor on a trade contractor's policy.CG 20 10CG 20 37CG 20 38
- Completed operationsLiability for injury or damage that shows up after a contractor's work is finished, such as a leak or a collapse months after turnover.CG 20 37
- Primary and noncontributoryWording that makes the contractor's policy pay first for the additional insured, without asking the additional insured's own policy to share the loss.CG 20 01
- Waiver of subrogationA promise by the contractor's insurer not to sue you to recover what it paid on a claim.CG 24 04WC 00 03 13
- Per project aggregateAn endorsement that gives each construction project its own general aggregate limit, so claims on one job can't use up the limit for yours.CG 25 03
- Notice of cancellationAdvance notice that a contractor's policy is being cancelled.ACORD 25
General information, not legal or insurance advice. Form numbers refer to ISO and ACORD forms; carriers also use their own versions. Ask your broker what your policies actually carry.