The certificate of insurance, explained
Your landlord wants one before handing over the keys. A property manager wants one before your cleaning crew starts. A school wants one before the food truck parks. The request is always for the same one-page document, and almost nobody explains what it is, what it proves, and why the wording on it matters more than the form itself.
A certificate of insurance is a one-page summary of your policies that your broker issues, showing carriers, limits and dates, with the requesting party named as certificate holder. It proves coverage exists; it doesn't give the holder any rights — only an endorsement on the policy does that, which is why leases and contracts ask for 'additional insured'. In New York, workers' compensation and disability coverage are proven on separate state forms, C-105.2 and DB-120.1, not on the certificate. If your policy already meets the requirement I can issue a certificate the same day; if it needs an endorsement, allow a few days.
What the form is
The certificate of insurance is the ACORD 25 — a standardized one-page form the insurance industry has used for decades. Across the top it names you (the insured) and your broker; the middle lists each policy with its carrier, policy number, effective and expiry dates and limits; the bottom names the certificate holder, the party who asked for it, and has a box for a description of operations, where the additional insured wording goes.
Three things it is not. It is not a policy. It is not a contract. And it is not proof of anything after the day it was issued — if you cancel the policy next week, the certificate in the landlord's file is still sitting there looking valid, which is why the form itself says the holder gets no rights from it and why careful landlords ask for a new one at every renewal.
Certificate holder is not additional insured
This is the confusion behind most rejected certificates. Being named as certificate holder gives someone a piece of paper. Being an additional insured means your liability policy has been endorsed to cover them for claims arising from your work or your premises — a customer slips in your shop and sues the landlord too; your crew damages a client's floor and the client's own insurer wants to know who's paying.
The endorsement lives on the policy. The certificate then reports it, in the description box: "Certificate holder is included as additional insured with respect to general liability, per endorsement CG 20 26 (or the carrier's equivalent)." If the endorsement isn't on the policy, no wording on the certificate can create it — and in New York, writing it there anyway is a violation (see below).
Most small-business policies from the carriers I represent include blanket additional insured coverage: anyone you're required by written contract to add is covered automatically. That is what makes same-day certificates possible. Policies without it need a specific endorsement per landlord or client, which takes days and sometimes a small charge.
What's usually being asked for
| Who's asking | Typically wants | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial landlord (retail, office, restaurant lease) | General liability $1M/$2M with landlord and management company as additional insured; property coverage on contents and improvements; business interruption; sometimes plate glass, umbrella, liquor liability | Read the lease's insurance clause; it controls. Landlords also ask for a new certificate at every renewal. |
| Client of a service business (cleaning, landscaping, snow, repair) | General liability $1M/$2M, client as additional insured, often a waiver of subrogation and commercial auto if you drive to them | Larger clients and property managers use vendor-onboarding portals that reject anything short of the exact wording. |
| General contractor (you're the sub) | Everything above plus additional insured for ongoing and completed operations, primary and non-contributory, no Labor Law exclusion, umbrella | The strictest case. The first-GC-job guide goes line by line. |
| Event, venue, school, municipality (food truck, vendor, class, market) | General liability $1M, host named as additional insured for the event dates, sometimes liquor liability or auto | Often needs the certificate a week or more ahead; some want the host's exact legal name and address. |
| Anyone in New York, once you have employees | Proof of workers' compensation and of disability/Paid Family Leave | Not on the certificate — on state forms C-105.2 and DB-120.1 (below). |
Workers' comp and disability go on state forms, not the ACORD
New York's Workers' Compensation Board doesn't accept an ACORD 25 as proof of workers' compensation or disability coverage. Workers' comp is proven on form C-105.2, which your carrier issues (the State Insurance Fund uses its own form, U-26.3); disability and Paid Family Leave on DB-120.1. A business with no employees can instead get a CE-200 exemption certificate from the Board's website — but the moment you hire a helper, even for a day, the exemption is void. Property managers, general contractors and government agencies all know the difference; a certificate that shows workers' comp only on the ACORD form is the most common reason an otherwise good package gets bounced.
The words that matter
- Additional insured — the holder is covered under your liability policy for claims arising from your work or premises. Ask which endorsement; "ongoing operations only" is not enough for construction.
- Primary and non-contributory — your policy pays first and doesn't ask the holder's own insurer to share. Standard in leases and construction, increasingly in vendor contracts.
- Waiver of subrogation — your carrier agrees not to sue the holder to recover what it paid on your claim. Available on liability, workers' comp and auto; each is a separate endorsement.
- Per occurrence / aggregate — the most the policy pays for one incident, and for all incidents in the policy year. $1 million / $2 million is the usual floor; check whether the aggregate is shared across your locations or projects.
- Notice of cancellation — the ACORD 25 says the carrier "will endeavor" to notify the holder; that's not a promise. If a lease demands 30 days' guaranteed notice, that too is an endorsement, and not every carrier offers it.
What New York law says about certificates
Since 2015, Insurance Law Article 5 has governed certificates in New York. Section 502 makes three rules: anyone requiring a certificate as a condition of a contract has to accept the insurer's own form or an approved standard form (the ACORD 25 is one); nobody may demand that a certificate state terms, warranties or coverage the policy doesn't actually contain; and a certificate can't amend, extend or alter the policy or give anyone rights beyond it. The Department of Financial Services can fine a person who wilfully breaks these rules $1,000 for a first violation and $2,000 for each one after.
In practice that protects you: a landlord can't insist that your broker type "landlord is covered for everything" onto a certificate, and no broker who wants to keep a license will. It also tells you what to do when the requirement and your policy don't match — change the policy, with an endorsement, so the certificate can honestly say so.
Reading a certificate someone gives you
The same knowledge works in reverse. If you own a restaurant and hire a contractor for the kitchen, or run a salon and bring in a cleaning service, ask for their certificate and check four things: the dates cover the work; general liability is at least $1 million per occurrence; you are named as additional insured in the description box, not just as certificate holder; and workers' comp is shown on C-105.2, or a CE-200 exemption is attached and they truly have no employees. If a contractor's worker is hurt on your premises, New York's Labor Law puts the property owner in the lawsuit, and an uninsured contractor leaves you there alone. Five minutes with their certificate is the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy.
How to get one issued
- Send me the requirement exactly as written — the lease clause, the client's email, the portal's checklist — plus the holder's legal name and mailing address.
- I compare it to your policies. If they comply, the certificate goes out the same day, with the endorsements attached where the holder wants them.
- If something's missing, I tell you what it costs and how long the endorsement takes, and quote it. Additional insured and waivers on a policy that already has blanket wording: same day. New endorsements: a day to a week. A whole new policy: a few days, once the application's in.
- Renewal: certificates expire with the policy. I re-issue to every holder on file at each renewal so your landlord isn't the one who notices.
There's no fee for certificates, ever, for a policy placed through me. Request one, or if you're setting up a new business, start with what New York requires.
- New York Insurance Law Article 5, §502 — certificates of insurance: prohibitions (NY Senate) — certificate cannot amend the policy; approved forms only
- New York Insurance Law §503 — enforcement (NY Senate) — $1,000 first violation, $2,000 each subsequent
- Is workers' compensation coverage required? (NY WCB)
- Disability and Paid Family Leave coverage requirements (NY WCB)
- Construction Industry Fair Play Act and independent contractor test (NY WCB)
Common questions
Short answers to what people ask before they call.
What is a certificate of insurance?
A summary of your insurance, usually on the industry-standard ACORD 25 form, listing each policy's carrier, policy number, limits and dates, and naming the person who asked for it as the certificate holder. Your broker issues it; it's free. It's evidence that coverage exists on the day it was issued and nothing more.
What's the difference between certificate holder and additional insured?
The certificate holder is just the person the certificate is addressed to; being listed there gives them no coverage. An additional insured is someone your policy has been endorsed to cover for claims arising from your work or your premises. Landlords and clients want the second. It's done with an endorsement to the policy, and the certificate then notes it — in that order.
How fast can I get one?
If your policy already meets the requirement, the same business day, often within the hour. If the requirement needs an endorsement your policy doesn't have (additional insured, waiver of subrogation, primary and non-contributory), the carrier has to issue it first, which takes a day to a week. Send me the requirement before the deadline, not on it.
Can I just send my policy instead?
You can, and some landlords accept the declarations page, but most systems want the certificate, and larger property managers and general contractors want the endorsements attached to it. Sending the whole policy also tells the other side more about your limits than you may want them to know.
Is a certificate a contract?
No. New York Insurance Law section 502 says a certificate can't amend, extend or alter the policy or give anyone rights the policy doesn't already give, and it bars anyone from demanding a certificate that states coverage the policy doesn't contain. If a lease or contract asks for wording that isn't in your policy, the fix is an endorsement, not a creatively worded certificate.
My landlord's certificate came from their tenant across the hall. What should mine show?
Read your own lease's insurance clause; it's usually a page. Typical Capital Region retail and office leases ask for general liability of $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate with the landlord and its management company as additional insured, property coverage for your contents and improvements, business interruption, and sometimes plate glass, umbrella, or liquor liability if you serve alcohol. I'll read the clause with you and quote whatever's missing.
Send me the requirement
Forward the lease clause, the client's email or the vendor form. I'll tell you whether your policy already meets it, what it would take if not, and issue the certificate the same day once it does.