How to read an ACORD 25 certificate

Start with three things: the policy dates, the certificate holder and the limits. Compare the policy dates with the dates of the work, because a policy that ends before the job does not cover it. Check that the holder name matches the company named in your contract. Then compare each limit with the minimum your contract states.

Read the rest of the page once those three items look right. The sections below follow the order in which the form presents them.

The producer is the insurance agency or broker that issued the certificate, usually shown at the top. Its name and phone number are where questions go, so record them. The insured is the vendor the policies cover. Confirm that the insured name matches the vendor's legal name, including any doing-business-as name, because a mismatch can mean the certificate describes a different business.

The insurers affording coverage section lists each insurer with a letter, such as A, B or C. The letters are used in the coverages table, so you can match each policy to its insurer. Some forms also show an NAIC number, the insurer's identifier, which is useful when you record the insurer.

The coverages table is the core of the certificate. Each row is a type of insurance, such as commercial general liability, automobile liability, umbrella or workers compensation. The columns show the insurer letter, the policy number, the policy effective and expiration dates, and the limits.

Workers compensation rows often show a statutory limit rather than a dollar amount, and employers liability amounts appear separately. Read each row as written.

The description of operations, locations or vehicles is a free-text box. Issuers use it for project names, holder wording and endorsement references. Words written here describe what the issuer reported; they do not add coverage on their own. Check the endorsement itself.

The certificate holder box names the party the certificate was issued to, usually the company that asked for proof of coverage. Being named there does not give the holder any rights under the policy.

The cancellation section usually says that if a policy is cancelled before its expiration date, notice will be given in accordance with the policy provisions. Many forms do not promise the holder direct notice. If your contract requires notice, write that requirement down and ask for it separately.

The authorized representative box is where the issuer's representative signs, often a licensed agent. A certificate with no name or signature in that box should be questioned before you rely on it.

The standard form states that it is issued as a matter of information and does not change the policies it lists. In general terms, a certificate is a summary of coverage as reported on a date. It is not the policy, and it does not change or extend the coverage.

ShowMeTheDocs reads certificate PDFs that contain a text layer and suggests the expiry date, coverage amount, line of business and policy number. You confirm each value before it is saved. The reader also lists endorsement wording it finds, such as additional insured, waiver of subrogation and primary and non-contributory, plus the holder name, as hints for the reviewer.

The review checklist on each vendor page lets a reviewer tick the checks in this guide. To try the reader before you sign up, the free certificate checker at /certificate-checker reads a text-based PDF without an account and shows the values it finds.