Tips for Collecting Certificates of Insurance from Subcontractors in Florida

At the end of your workers' comp and general liability policy year, your carrier audits your actual payroll and revenue. If you paid subcontractors who can't prove they had their own workers' comp coverage during the period they worked for you, those wages get added to your payroll — at your highest class code rate.

On a roofing policy, that's approximately $7–$9 per $100 of sub payroll. If you paid $300,000 to uninsured subs, you're looking at $21,000–$27,000 in unexpected audit premium. COI collection is how you prevent that.

Not all certificates of insurance are equal. A valid COI for audit purposes must show:

• Active policy dates: The policy must be in force for the dates the sub worked on your job
• Workers' comp coverage: The certificate must show a workers' comp policy, not just GL
• The sub's correct legal name: The name on the COI must match the name you're paying
• Adequate limits: Check that the limits meet your contract requirements
• Your name as additional insured: For GL policies, require the sub to name you as additional insured

A COI is only as good as the policy behind it. Certificates can be forged, policies can lapse after the certificate is issued, and some subs present certificates from policies that were cancelled months ago.

Use the Bright Coast Policy Verification tool to check any Florida insurance policy's active status in real time through the Florida DFS database. This takes 30 seconds and is the only way to be certain a policy is actually active. Do this for every new sub and for any sub you haven't worked with in the past 90 days.

The contractors who handle audits best are the ones who have a system. Here's a simple one:

1. Pre-qualify before work starts: No COI, no work. Make this a firm rule with no exceptions.
2. Create a COI file: A simple folder (physical or digital) organized by subcontractor name and policy year
3. Track expiration dates: Note when each sub's policy expires and request a renewal COI before the expiration date
4. Verify at renewal: When a sub's policy renews, get a new COI and re-verify through the DFS database
5. Keep records for 3 years: Your carrier can audit back 3 years; keep COIs for at least that long

Some subs — especially small sole proprietors — won't have workers' comp because they've filed for an exemption. That's fine, but you need documentation. Use the Bright Coast WC Exemption Lookup to verify the exemption is current and on file with the Florida Division of Workers' Compensation.

If a sub has no coverage and no valid exemption, you have two options: (1) require them to get coverage before starting work, or (2) add their estimated wages to your own workers' comp policy as "uninsured subcontractors." Option 2 is more expensive but keeps the project moving.