Certificate of insurance

A certificate of insurance is a document that is issued by an insurance company, at the request and on behalf of, an insured policyholder. The document serves as proof of insurance coverage to persons, companies or organizations that request the certificate. Generally speaking, there are three major types of certificates of insurance.

Certificate of Car Insurance

A certificate of car insurance may be in the form of an insurance identification card (such as the one you are required to keep in your vehicle) or the document may actually be full sized form that has been issued by the car insurance company at the request of the policy holder for a specific purpose.
A certificate of car insurance may be requested by a bank or lender that financed the purchase of a vehicle in some circumstances. For example, when financing a vehicle, the lender will usually require that full coverage insurance be maintained on the vehicle until the loan has been completely paid off. In addition, the lender will usually be required that it be named an additional insured party on the policy so that they can be paid in the event the vehicle is totaled in an accident.
If the lender ever has cause to suspect that you are not keeping adequate insurance coverage, the company may request a certificate of car insurance. Most of the time, if the lender requests a certificate of car insurance, it will not accept the insurance ID card carried inside the vehicle and will require a signed document from the agent or insurance company.

Certificate of Liability Insurance

There are many situations when one or both companies involved in a business transaction or relationship will require a certificate of liability insurance. For example, if you own a business and need to lease a building or space from a landlord or rental management company, the renter of the property may require that you supply them with a certificate of liability insurance. The landlord of renter of the property may require this in order to be assured that they are protected from liability in the event someone is injured while at your place of business.
Other times a certificate of liability insurance may be required when contractors need to visit a client location and do certain types of work. Many times the client organization purchasing goods or services from the contractor or vendor will require a certificate of insurance. This is due help protect the client organization in the event that the contractor vendor causes damage or injury while on the premises of the client. It also helps to ensure that property of the client is protected in the event it is damaged by the contractor vendor while working at the client site.

Certificate of Workers Compensation Insurance

For many types of construction jobs or other large projects, there is usually a project management company or general contractor responsible for the overall completion of the project. Most the time, companies responsible for the completion of the project will use contractors or vendors to perform certain aspects of the work.
Because most states require that many businesses maintain some sort of workers compensation insurance for employees, general contractors or project management companies may require certificates of workers compensation insurance from subcontractors and vendors working on the project. They will require this in order to protect themselves from liability in the event a subcontractor or vendor employee is injured while on the job.