COISoftware collects a certificate of insurance from every subcontractor, reads the ACORD 25 with AI, checks the coverage and additional insured status against your contract, and alerts you before any policy lapses. Built for general contractors who cannot let an uninsured sub set foot on the job site. Upload a COI above to see it read in seconds.
Last updated June 2026
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The coverages and endorsements general contractors commonly require from subs. Limits shown are typical market starting points, not legal or insurance advice.
| Coverage | Commonly required | Why GCs require it |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial general liability | $1M per occurrence, $2M aggregate | Covers third-party bodily injury and property damage caused by the sub work |
| Workers compensation | Statutory limits for the state | Most states make an injured sub worker the GC exposure without it |
| Commercial auto liability | $1M combined single limit | Applies when the sub drives to or operates vehicles on the job site |
| Umbrella or excess liability | $1M to $5M by project size | Adds limit above the primary policies on larger or higher-risk jobs |
| Additional insured plus waiver of subrogation | Endorsement on the GL policy | Extends the sub coverage to you and stops their insurer pursuing you |
Set your own requirements to the subcontract, project and state. Limits shown are common market starting points, not legal or insurance advice.
A general contractor can have dozens of subs across several active projects, each with its own policies and renewal dates. One uninsured sub is all it takes to push a claim onto your policy.
If a subcontractor without valid coverage causes injury or damage, the claim can land on your general liability policy and your loss run. Requiring and verifying a COI is what keeps the sub insurer on the hook instead of yours.
A sub policy that was current at the kickoff renews partway through a long build. Without renewal tracking, you can have an uninsured sub on an active site and not know until something goes wrong.
You usually need to be named as additional insured on a primary and noncontributory basis, with a waiver of subrogation. A ticked box on the certificate is not the endorsement, and the gap surfaces only when a claim is denied.
In most states an injured worker of an uninsured sub can come back on the general contractor for workers compensation. Confirming each sub carries valid comp coverage is not optional, it is how you avoid inheriting their payroll exposure.
Collecting COIs by email, then chasing agents for corrections and renewals, is a job in itself. When a sub cannot start until the paperwork clears, slow tracking holds up the schedule.
One project is trackable by hand. Several active jobs, each with its own subs and renewal calendar, turns a spreadsheet into a full-time chase that still misses things.
General contractors carry a specific risk: under most subcontracts and state laws, an uninsured sub injury or accident can flow up to the GC. The defense is a current, compliant certificate of insurance on file for every sub before they start, and renewal tracking so it stays current through the whole build. That work, reading each COI, checking the limits and endorsements, and watching the dates, is repetitive and rules-based. Certificate of insurance management software handles it on every sub, automatically.
COISoftware reads every subcontractor certificate, checks it against your subcontract requirements, and watches the renewal dates across every active project.
Upload a certificate from any sub and the AI pulls the insurer, policy numbers, coverage types, limits, effective and expiration dates, and additional insured status, even from scans and phone photos.
Group certificates by job, sub or trade so you can confirm an entire project crew is covered before mobilization and see compliance across every active site at once.
Set the general liability, auto, umbrella and workers comp minimums your subcontract requires. Every certificate is checked and flagged the moment a limit is short or a coverage is missing.
See whether you are named as additional insured and whether primary and noncontributory and waiver of subrogation wording is present, so a real-looking COI does not hide a coverage gap.
Automated reminders at 60, 30 and 15 days catch a sub policy that renews during a long build, so you never have an uninsured sub on an active site.
Every sub certificate, its extracted data and its compliance status are stored together, so you can show an owner, auditor or your own insurer exactly who was covered on any date.
COISoftware reads the ACORD 25 and the broader certificate of liability insurance, then ties every sub certificate into full certificate of insurance management software and ongoing vendor and subcontractor insurance compliance tracking. When a sub COI looks altered or short, the same checks behind certificate of insurance verification flag it before the sub mobilizes.
From onboarding a sub to closing out a project, the workflow is the same four steps.
Enter the coverages and limits your subcontract requires, including additional insured, primary and noncontributory, and waiver of subrogation wording. Different requirements by trade or project size are fine.
Tip: Mirror the insurance exhibit in your standard subcontract so every sub clears the same bar.
Request a certificate from each subcontractor, or upload the ones you already have. The AI reads every certificate automatically, so onboarding a new sub does not mean manual data entry.
Each certificate is checked against your subcontract. Short limits, missing workers comp, and absent additional insured or waiver endorsements are flagged so an uninsured sub never starts work.
Automated reminders track every expiration date and chase renewals before coverage lapses, so a sub stays compliant from mobilization to closeout, even on a multi-year project.
Any contractor or builder responsible for proving every sub on the job carries real, current coverage.
On a commercial build with dozens of subs across several trades, one uninsured sub can pull a claim onto your policy and your loss run. COISoftware confirms every sub is compliant before mobilization and keeps the whole project crew current through closeout, so the insurance exhibit in your subcontract is actually enforced and not just signed.
Production builders run many jobs at once, each with its own subs and schedule. Centralized tracking means a renewal that lapses on one lot is caught before that sub works uninsured, and you can show a lender or owner that coverage was in place on any date.
Electrical, mechanical, roofing and other trades that hire their own lower-tier subs carry the same upstream risk a GC does. To collect, verify and monitor every certificate in one place, pair this with vendor and subcontractor insurance compliance tracking, and if you are choosing a platform, our best COI tracking software roundup and the TrustLayer alternative comparison cover the construction-focused options.
Subcontractor COI tracking is the process of collecting, verifying and monitoring a certificate of insurance from every subcontractor on a project. It confirms each sub carries the coverage your subcontract requires, names you as additional insured, and stays current through the build, so an uninsured sub never creates exposure on your job site.
General contractors typically require commercial general liability, workers compensation and commercial auto from every sub, with umbrella coverage on larger jobs. They also require additional insured status on a primary and noncontributory basis and a waiver of subrogation. Set the exact limits to your subcontract and state law.
Contractors require a COI so that an accident, injury or property damage caused by a subcontractor is covered by the sub insurer instead of the general contractor policy. Without a current certificate, an uninsured sub claim can flow up to the GC, raise their premiums, and leave them defending a loss they did not cause.
If an uninsured subcontractor causes injury or damage, the claim can fall on the general contractor general liability policy, and in most states the GC can be liable for workers compensation for the sub injured workers. That is why GCs verify a valid COI before mobilization and refuse to let an uninsured sub start work.
Smaller GCs track sub COIs in a spreadsheet, but most move to COI tracking software once they run multiple projects. Software reads each certificate, checks the coverage and endorsements against the subcontract, organizes it by project and trade, and sends renewal reminders, which removes the manual entry and the missed expirations a spreadsheet invites.
Yes, almost every subcontract requires the sub to name the general contractor, and often the owner, as additional insured, usually on a primary and noncontributory basis with a waiver of subrogation. This extends the sub coverage to the GC for claims arising from the sub work, which is why verifying the actual endorsement, not just a checked box, matters.
Verify a subcontractor COI before they mobilize and again at every policy renewal during the project. On a long build, a sub policy can renew one or more times, so a certificate that was valid at kickoff can lapse mid-project. Automated renewal tracking checks each expiration date so coverage is confirmed continuously, not just once.
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