How Often Should You Collect COIs From Vendors?

Last updated July 2026.

Collect a certificate of insurance from every vendor at onboarding, then again at each policy renewal, which for most vendors is once a year. The practical rule is to hold a current, unexpired certificate for every active vendor at all times, which means requesting the renewal certificate as each policy approaches its expiration date rather than on a fixed calendar. High-risk vendors and mid-term policy changes call for tighter monitoring than an annual check.

The question behind this one is usually simpler than it sounds. People ask how often to collect COIs because they know a certificate goes stale, but they are not sure whether to chase them quarterly, annually, or only when they remember. The honest answer is that the right cadence is driven by policy expiration dates, not by the calendar, and the goal is never to have an active vendor working on an expired or missing certificate.

How often should you collect certificates of insurance from vendors?

Collect a COI when you onboard a vendor and again at every policy renewal, typically once a year, timed to each vendor's own expiration date. The aim is to always hold a current certificate for every active vendor. Request the renewal as the policy nears expiration, monitor for mid-term cancellations, and require an updated certificate whenever a vendor's coverage or your requirements change.

Most commercial policies run for a twelve-month term, so an annual refresh matches the majority of vendors. But annual is a pattern, not a rule. What actually matters is the expiration date on each certificate, because that is the day coverage you are relying on disappears if it has not been renewed.

Why is a fixed annual schedule not enough?

A fixed annual schedule fails because vendor policies do not all renew on the same day, and policies can cancel mid-term. If you collect every certificate each January, a vendor whose policy renews in June spends half the year on a certificate you have not refreshed, and a vendor whose policy cancels in March looks compliant on your January snapshot while carrying no coverage at all. Tracking by each vendor's own expiration date closes both gaps.

This is the core reason certificate tracking is more than a filing task. A certificate is a snapshot from the day it was issued, and it says nothing about whether the policy is still in force today. The value is in watching the dates, not in having collected the paper once.

When should you request the renewal certificate?

Request the renewal certificate before the current one expires, commonly starting the ask around 30 days out and following up as the date approaches. Starting early gives the vendor time to have their agent issue the new certificate and gives you time to review it before the old coverage lapses, so there is no window where the vendor is active without a current certificate on file.

In practice, the reminder cadence that works is a series, not a single email: a first request well ahead of expiration, a follow-up as it gets closer, and an escalation if the date passes without a renewed certificate. Doing this by hand across a large vendor list is exactly where it breaks down, which is why COI renewal tracking software chases each vendor automatically on its own schedule.

Which vendors need more frequent COI checks?

Higher-risk vendors warrant tighter monitoring than a once-a-year certificate. A subcontractor doing hot work on your property, a carrier hauling your freight, or any vendor whose policy is prone to mid-term change carries more exposure than a low-risk office supplier. For those, watch for mid-term cancellation notices and confirm coverage stays in force between renewals, not just at the annual mark.

What happens if a vendor's certificate expires?

If a vendor's certificate expires, you no longer have proof they carry the coverage your contract requires, and if a claim arises during the gap, you may be exposed to a loss you assumed was insured. An expired certificate should trigger a hold on new work and an immediate renewal request. The risk is not theoretical: a lapse most often surfaces at the worst moment, when a claim reveals that the coverage you counted on ended weeks earlier.

Should you collect COIs from every vendor, or only some?

Collect certificates from any vendor whose work could create a liability you would be drawn into: anyone on your property, anyone handling your goods or customers, and anyone whose contract requires specific coverage. Very low-touch vendors may warrant a lighter standard, but the safe default is to set a clear requirement for each vendor category and hold a current certificate for every active vendor in the categories that carry real exposure. It is the same discipline as vetting a vendor before you set them up to be paid: the paperwork proves they are safe to work with.

How do you keep track of vendor certificate renewals?

Keeping track of renewals means recording each vendor certificate with its expiration date, then acting on those dates automatically instead of relying on memory. A spreadsheet can hold the dates, but someone still has to scan it, notice what is expiring, and send each request by hand, which is where the process slips once you pass a few dozen vendors. Software solves this by reading each certificate, storing its expiration date, and sending the renewal request and follow-ups on schedule, so a lapse cannot pass unnoticed. That automatic date tracking is the difference between a vendor list that stays compliant and one that quietly falls out of coverage.

The bottom line

Collect a COI at onboarding and at every renewal, timed to each vendor's own expiration date, and always hold a current certificate for every active vendor. Annual is the common rhythm because most policies run a year, but the real driver is the expiration date and the possibility of a mid-term cancellation, not a date on your calendar. Chasing that by hand across a large vendor list does not scale, which is why teams move to vendor insurance compliance software that tracks every date and requests each renewal automatically. For the full picture of how this fits together, start with what COI tracking is.