3 Reasons Why COI Verification Is Essential

Manually tracking certificates of insurance (COIs) can be a monotonous task. General Contractors need to verify their subcontractors’ insurance to protect their business from hefty financial penalties, damage to their reputation, and ensure the safety of all workers on their projects. Due to its tedious nature, some construction businesses may decide to forego the process entirely. This decision is extremely risky and can bring about a worst-case scenario in which your construction business is deeply affected for a long time. Here is why verification of COIs is essential for your construction business, and how you can simplify it.

Risk mitigation

Transferring liability is the key to effective risk management. Before your insurance is required to cover you, a COI might provide the required protection. Collecting and validating COIs from every subcontractor you work with allows you to pass on injury expenses to the subs’ own insurance company, thereby not affecting your own policy’s premiums. And your reputation with the insurance company will stay solid. Furthermore, your EMR won’t take a hit, which allows you to remain credible and qualify highly when owners search for your business. Finally, a COI may help you avoid financial penalties associated with audits because you can prove that every sub had a policy of their own, transferring liability from your insurance company to that of your subs.

Proof of protection

The process of obtaining and properly verifying COIs serves as proof that you performed proper due diligence. Having peace of mind throughout a project that you have seamless access to your subcontractors’ insurance coverage is crucial to protecting your business. COIs aid in your awareness of your coverage and exposed areas.

Working with trustworthy vendors

Sorting through contractors is a significant burden if there is no system in place to know what your current liabilities are. On a single project, it could be required to collaborate with numerous vendors, all with different policy expiration dates to keep up with, which adds to the complexity. Keeping track of your liabilities and managing your list of COIs from your vendors will put you in the greatest position to defend your company in the case of an accident.

Save Time with Built

Let Built do the heavy lifting. Using Built’s integrated solution, your team will save time and money on the COI verification process. With COI verification from Built, you can view the status of compliance documents on the same platform where you manage your contractors and approve and settle invoices. Built keeps track of expiring policies for you by sending out 30-day reminders so you don’t have to. Let the technology surface the compliance status at the time of payment, so you can ensure your company is not at risk before releasing funds. Most importantly, Built can verify the accuracy and completeness of COIs for you, offloading the training and time needed to have your staff do this. The software checks state policy databases to ensure a COI is not fake. Minimize the danger of doing business with unverified trade partners. Access important data whenever and wherever you need it, all while keeping your project in mind—avoiding the worst-case scenario.