Compliance checklist
Subcontractor Insurance Compliance Checklist
Use this checklist when you need a repeatable COI review process for subcontractors, especially when expiration dates, limits, and endorsement wording all matter.
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Field notes
What to keep out of the cracks.
Confirm the basics before reading endorsements.
A review should begin with the obvious items: the named insured, project, coverage lines, dates, and certificate holder. If those are wrong, the rest of the review is already suspect.
- Named insured matches the subcontractor you hired
- Certificate holder matches your company or project requirement
- Policy dates are current for work and payment timing
Check limits against the contract.
A certificate can look complete and still miss a contract requirement. Keep the required limits close to the review workflow so the reviewer does not rely on memory.
- General liability each occurrence and aggregate
- Workers compensation and employer liability
- Auto liability if vehicles are part of the work
- Umbrella or excess coverage when the contract requires it
Treat endorsement wording as a separate decision.
Additional insured and waiver of subrogation wording often decide whether a COI is truly usable. Track those checks separately from expiration status so a date renewal does not erase a review issue.
Write down exceptions.
If someone approves work with a missing item, record who approved it, when, and why. That note matters later when an auditor, owner, or accounting team asks why the row was cleared.
Working checklist
Match the subcontractor name against the agreement or vendor record.
Confirm certificate holder details.
Review GL, workers comp, auto, and umbrella expiration dates.
Compare limits to the contract or project requirement.
Check additional insured wording when required.
Check waiver of subrogation wording when required.
Record missing items, reviewer, and next action.
Save the reviewed certificate and any endorsement files together.
Next step
When the sheet becomes the bottleneck, import it.
COI Compass can start from the tracker spreadsheet. Upload the workbook, import the subcontractors, then move renewals and COI review into a workflow that records what happened.
Related resources
Keep the workflow connected.
Free Subcontractor COI Tracker Spreadsheet
Copy the starter spreadsheet before moving the workflow into software.
COI Tracking Spreadsheet for Subcontractors
Set up the spreadsheet columns that keep renewal and review work visible.
COI Renewal Email Template
Use a clear renewal request when coverage is close to expiration.
Subcontractor Insurance Compliance Checklist
Review dates, limits, endorsements, and exceptions in a repeatable order.
FAQ
Common questions.
What is subcontractor insurance compliance?
It is the process of checking that a subcontractor's insurance documents match the coverage, timing, limits, and endorsement requirements for the work.
Is a certificate of insurance enough by itself?
Not always. A certificate summarizes coverage, but some requirements depend on attached endorsements or contract-specific wording.
Who should approve COI exceptions?
The owner of the requirement should approve exceptions. For a small GC, that may be an operations lead, controller, project executive, or owner. The approval should be recorded.