Actually, Certificates of Insurance are worthless for what you want them for. But, you knew that.

In case you didn’t already know this, I’ll try to make it clear. Forget whatever you “used to know.” The rules have changed. The history isn’t important.

A Certificate of Insurance CONFERS NO RIGHTS on the Certificate Holder. It is not a contract between the insurance company and the Certificate Holder. The insurance company is not obligating itself to do anything for the Certificate Holder. The insurance company says it will “endeavor” to let the Certificate Holder know if the coverage is being terminated, but the Certificate Holder has no recourse against the insurance company if it doesn’t give such a notice. [Read more…]