What to require from any COI tool: a vendor-neutral specification

How to use this

Take one real project. Write down its insurance requirements. Pull three to five real certificates and the endorsements behind them, including at least one you know has a gap. Then run every tool, service or process you're considering against the same packet, line by line, using the specification below.

The specification

Requirements

1. Holds different requirements per project, and per trade tier within a project.
2. Captures coverages, limits, endorsements, durations, named additional insureds, carrier rating, deductible caps and notice rules.
3. Records where each requirement came from in the contract.

Review

1. Reads the certificate and extracts carriers, policy numbers, dates, limits and names.
2. Reads the endorsements, not just the certificate's checkboxes. See additional insured.
3. Checks ongoing and completed operations separately. See completed operations.
4. Checks primary and noncontributory, waivers of subrogation and per project aggregates as separate requirements.
5. Flags a missing document as a failure, not a pass.
6. Explains each failure: the requirement, what was found, and the document that would fix it.

Renewals and lapses

1. Tracks expiration dates at the policy level, across every project a trade works on.
2. Requests renewals, with endorsements, before expiration.
3. Treats a policy with no renewal on its expiration date as lapsed. See notice of cancellation.

Fixing gaps

1. Sends deficiency requests to the trade's broker with the requirement quoted.
2. Lets the broker respond with documents, and re-checks what comes back.
3. Keeps an audit trail of who checked what, and when.

Fit and governance

1. Works with the project tools you already use.
2. Says clearly what is automated and what a person reviews.
3. Says how its accuracy is tested and how errors are caught. See Can AI review a COI?.
4. Says where your documents are stored and who can see them.
5. Publishes its pricing, or quotes it in writing.

Demo questions

• Show me a certificate with a checked additional insured box and no endorsement. What happens?
• Show me how you check completed operations separately from ongoing operations.
• Show me a project with different limits than my standard subcontract.
• Show me what the broker receives when something fails.
• Show me the audit trail for one certificate.

Scoring

Mark each of the 20 lines pass, partial or fail on your packet, not on the slide deck. Weight lines 5 to 9 most heavily: they decide whether the tool finds the gaps that cost money.