Certificate of Insurance (COI) Guide to ACORD Forms
When your business relies on third-party vendors, verifying insurance coverage isn’t optional—it’s mission-critical.
A single uninsured partnership can leave your organization exposed to costly liability claims, contract disputes, and compliance failures. Yet, manual certificate of insurance (COI) tracking still consumes 15–20 hours each week for many compliance teams.
That’s where standardized ACORD certificates of insurance come in. These one-page documents make it simple to confirm coverage details without sifting through full policy binders—if you know what to look for.
In this guide, we’ll explain the most common ACORD forms, how COIs protect your business, and why more organizations are shifting from spreadsheets to automated COI tracking software to eliminate risk and reclaim valuable time.
Key Takeaways
- ACORD standardized the insurance industry in 1970. Before the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development was founded, each insurance company used its own forms, creating confusion for brokers and businesses trying to verify coverage.
- Certificates of insurance (COIs) are condensed, one-page summaries of lengthy insurance policies that include essential information like policyholder name, coverage types, policy limits, effective dates, and carrier details—making vendor compliance verification quick and efficient.
- The five most common ACORD forms serve different verification purposes: ACORD 25 (liability insurance) is most widely used for vendor relationships, ACORD 24 (property insurance) for basic property coverage confirmation, ACORD 27 and 28 (evidence of property insurance for personal and commercial respectively) for parties with insurable interest, and ACORD 101 (additional remarks) as supplementary documentation.
- COI verification protects businesses from liability exposure by ensuring vendors carry proper insurance coverage. This due diligence prevents compliance gaps, enables appropriate loss transfer during incidents, and helps companies avoid partnerships with uninsured or underinsured vendors.
- Manual COI tracking consumes 15-20 hours weekly and creates compliance risks through human error, while automated solutions like bcs provide instant verification, deficiency correction, and continuous monitoring to eliminate gaps that could expose businesses to costly liability incidents.
What Does ACORD Stand for and Why Was It Created?
ACORD (Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development) is an internationally recognized non-profit developed to create standardized certificates of insurance forms.
Prior to its founding in 1970, each insurance company utilized its own forms and certificates to reflect policy details—making it somewhat confusing for brokers and insureds to access needed information.
ACORD has released several forms that, while not required for insurers to utilize, have become an industry standard to reflect pertinent policy information within an abridged document.
What Is an ACORD Certificate of Insurance?
Insurance policies are often lengthy documents containing all information concerning a given policy. For convenience and ease of use, the certificate of insurance is a shortened form containing all the pertinent information regarding an insurance policy, such as:
- Policyholder's Name
- Policy Effective & Expiration Dates
- Type of Coverage
- Policy Limits
- Policy Carrier
By including all the relevant information regarding a policy in a handy form, businesses can easily validate insurance status and build safer partnerships.
What Are the Most Common Types of ACORD COI Forms?
Part of the reason why ACORD’s standardized COIs have stood the test of time is not only because of their streamlined design, but because they account for a variety of policies.
There are hundreds of ACORD COI varieties, all categorized by number and purpose.
For example, in commercial insurance, some of the most popular include:
- Certificate of Property Insurance (ACORD 24)
- Certificate of Liability Insurance (ACORD 25)
- Evidence of Property (ACORD 27)
- Evidence of Commercial Property Insurance (ACORD 28)
- Additional Remarks (ACORD 101)
Acord Forms Comparison Table
| ACORD Form | Primary Purpose | Coverage Types | Typical Use Cases | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACORD 24 Certificate of Property Insurance | Documents property coverage when requesting party has NO insurable interest in the policy | Commercial property, inland marine, equipment coverage | Third-party verification needs, condominium associations, lessor/lessee agreements | Basic property coverage verification without detailed policy specifics—cannot satisfy mortgagee requirements |
| ACORD 25 Certificate of Liability Insurance | Most commonly used form to verify general liability, auto, and workers' compensation coverage | General liability, commercial auto liability, umbrella/excess liability, workers' compensation | Vendor qualification, contractor agreements, business partnerships, service contracts | Standard one-page format providing comprehensive liability coverage overview with additional insured endorsements |
| ACORD 27 Evidence of Property Insurance | Provides detailed property coverage proof when requesting party HAS an insurable interest | Personal property insurance, residential property coverage | Mortgagees, lenders, residential property transactions, personal property loans | Comprehensive detail level for parties with financial interest—includes coverage limits, deductibles, and specific policy conditions |
| ACORD 28 Evidence of Commercial Property Insurance | Provides detailed commercial property coverage when requesting party has an insurable interest | Commercial property, business personal property, loss of income, equipment coverage | Commercial mortgagees, commercial lenders, large property portfolios, detailed business insurance verification | Enhanced commercial-specific details including business interruption coverage, co-insurance requirements, and commercial endorsements |
| ACORD 101 Additional Remarks Schedule | Supplementary form attached to ANY other ACORD form when additional space is needed | No specific coverage—serves as overflow attachment | When standard forms lack space for complex policy terms, special endorsements, or detailed explanations | Flexible format allowing unlimited text for policy clarifications, special conditions, or additional information that doesn't fit on primary forms |
Why Do Businesses Require COIs From Vendors?
Active insurance policies are essential for any compliant business partnership. Verifying COIs with vendors not only ensures compliance, but appropriately transfers liability in the event of an incident.
1. Verifies Insurance Status
By including all the pertinent details of a policy, COIs make it easy to verify insurance status with vendors.
2. Provides Convenient Access
COIs are a welcome alternative to a lengthy insurance policy, enabling you to expedite your business dealings without sacrificing safety.
3. Mitigates Liability
By ensuring each organization is properly insured, you mitigate liabilities and risks of non-compliance from expired, inactive, or deficient policies. If there is an incident, you set yourself up for appropriate loss transfer to that party’s insurer.
4. Protects Your Business in Partnerships
Verifying your vendors’ COIs from the start helps ensure you are partnering with vetted businesses. Working with third parties poses inherent risks for organizations, but such due diligence protects your company.
How Do You Obtain and Verify ACORD Certificates of Insurance?
COIs are fairly easy to obtain. Insurers typically send them to insureds for free, when requested. That said, if a vendor is avoiding providing their COI, there is a chance they are uninsured or there might be other associated risks.
After it’s received, it is important to verify you haven’t been given a forged COI.
While there are numerous aspects to consider when it comes to COIs, they come with important benefits, such as ensuring your business partners with legitimate vendors, mitigating risks, and keeping projects running smoothly.
How bcs Helps
As you partner with more vendors, keeping track of COIs can feel like a full-time job.
bcs simplifies every piece of the COI collection, tracking, and correction process—easily enabling you to communicate with vendors, automatically correct deficiencies, and safely store documentation.
With automated tools that instantly highlight problem areas for an easy return to compliance, bcs saves you time and money so you can focus on running your business.
bcs is a leading vendor management solution providing full- and self-service COI tracking options for nearly every aspect of your third-party processes—from onboarding to immediate compliance correction.
bcs’ proprietary AI delivers instant insurance verification, 78,000+ pre-verified vendors that accelerate onboarding, free-tier access with flexible upgrades that scale with your business, and 24/7 U.S.-based human expert support—ensuring you never face uninsured incidents. Contact bcs today.
Frequently Asked Questions About ACORD Forms
No, ACORD forms aren't mandated by federal law, but they've become the industry standard. Most businesses require them for vendor compliance, and many contracts specifically reference ACORD certificate requirements. While not legally required, refusing to provide standard ACORD documentation often signals potential insurance or compliance issues.
Always contact the insurance carrier directly using the phone number listed on the certificate—never rely solely on the number provided by the vendor. Authentic ACORD forms include specific formatting, carrier logos, and agent signatures that are difficult to replicate. Automated COI tracking software can instantly verify certificates through carrier databases, eliminating manual verification time.
ACORD 25 covers liability insurance (general liability, auto, workers' compensation), while ACORD 24 focuses on property insurance coverage. Most businesses require ACORD 25 since it addresses the primary liability concerns when working with vendors and contractors.
ACORD certificates expire when the underlying insurance policies expire, typically annually. However, some policies have six-month terms or different renewal cycles. The certificate clearly displays policy effective and expiration dates; never assume coverage continues beyond these dates without updated documentation.
Absolutely not. Only licensed insurance agents or brokers can issue and modify ACORD certificates. Any alterations made by vendors invalidate the document and may constitute insurance fraud. Simple as that. If information appears incorrect, request a corrected certificate directly from the vendor's insurance agent.
Only licensed insurance agents, brokers, or authorized carrier representatives can issue legitimate ACORD certificates. Vendors cannot create their own certificates, and any documentation not issued by these authorized parties should be rejected immediately.
This is a major red flag indicating potential insurance gaps or compliance issues. What are they hiding? Reputable, properly insured vendors readily provide ACORD certificates since they're standard business documents. Consider this refusal grounds for partnership termination, as uninsured vendors expose your business to significant liability risks that could result in costly legal and financial consequences.
Most insurance carriers provide ACORD certificates free of charge as part of standard policy services. However, some agents may charge nominal fees ($25-50) for frequent certificate requests or rush processing. If vendors claim excessive fees for basic ACORD documentation, this often indicates they're working with non-standard carriers or facing insurance issues, so keep that in mind.
Missing additional insured endorsements top the list, followed by insufficient coverage limits and incorrect policy dates. Other frequent issues include wrong certificate holder information, missing waivers of subrogation, and failure to include required coverage types like workers' compensation. Automated COI tracking systems instantly identify these deficiencies and generate correction requests, eliminating the manual review process that often misses critical gaps.
International vendors can obtain ACORD certificates if they purchase insurance through U.S.-licensed carriers or international insurers with U.S. coverage. However, foreign insurance policies may require alternative documentation, like Lloyd's of London certificates or local insurance confirmations with English translations. Always verify that international coverage includes U.S. jurisdiction and meets your specific policy requirements before accepting non-ACORD documentation.
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