A new Texas trade business gets its first contract, and the general contractor sends one line back: send me your COI. Most new owners have never seen one. It is a single page, and it decides whether you get on the job site.
What a certificate of insurance is
A certificate of insurance, or COI, is a summary of your policies. Your insurance agent prepares it from the policies and sends it to whoever asked. The Texas Insurance Code, in Section 1811.152, says a certificate is not a policy of insurance and does not amend, extend, or alter the coverage of the policy it references. Section 1811.153 adds that it cannot confer new or additional rights on the holder beyond what the policy or an executed endorsement provides.
Read those two sections twice. They are the whole story. The certificate reports. The policy decides.
Why a general contractor or property manager asks for one
The reason is plain. When your crew works on someone else’s property or someone else’s job, an injured worker or a damaged building can lead to a lawsuit that names more than you. The party who hired you wants to see that a policy exists with enough limits behind it before your truck pulls in.
Some of the asking comes from the law. Texas Labor Code Section 406.096 says a governmental entity that signs a building or construction contract must require the contractor to certify in writing that it provides workers’ compensation coverage for its employees on the public project. Each subcontractor must give that certificate to the general contractor, who passes it to the governmental entity. That statute reaches public projects. On private jobs, the requirement comes from the contract.
Workers’ compensation is a good example of why the request matters. The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation, says private employers in Texas can choose to carry it, and it is not required in most cases. So a general contractor cannot assume your crew is covered. It has to ask.
Property managers ask for the same reason. A vendor who sprays a unit, fixes a roof, or hauls out a tenant’s belongings can cause an injury or a loss. The manager wants proof of coverage on file before the vendor starts. If you manage rentals yourself, our guide to landlord insurance in Texas covers the policy on the owner’s side of that same job.
The form Texas uses
For a risk located in Texas, TDI says you must use a certificate approved by TDI. Section 1811.052 of the Insurance Code says an insurer or agent may not issue a certificate unless the form has been filed with and approved by TDI. As of October 2026, TDI’s approved certificate listing includes ACORD 25 editions dated 2010/05, 2013/04, and 2016/03. Your agent knows which edition is current for your carrier. ACORD, the nonprofit that publishes standard insurance forms, issues the ACORD 25, and it is the most common liability certificate in the industry.
Texas also limits what a certificate can say. TDI’s FAQ lists what is prohibited, including statements about coverage the policy does not contain and any language that alters, amends, or extends policy coverage. A person who willfully violates Chapter 1811 is subject to a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation under Section 1811.203.
The ACORD 25, field by field
Here is the page from top to bottom. The field descriptions follow the agency guide at Total CSR and the field list published by Instafill. I have not seen your carrier’s version, and boxes can vary by edition, so ask your agent about any box that looks different.
Date and certificate number. The date is when the agent issued the certificate. The number is the agent’s own tracking number. Neither one says anything about the policy.
Producer. This is your agency, with its address and contact. When the general contractor has a question, this is who answers.
Insured. Your exact named insured and mailing address, copied from the policy. Check it against your contract. If the contract says “Smith Plumbing LLC” and the certificate says “John Smith,” the certificate is naming a different insured.
Insurers A through F, with NAIC numbers. Each company that issued a policy gets a letter and an NAIC number, a code that identifies the insurer. The coverage rows below point back to these letters. Different lines can come from different companies.
Commercial general liability. This is the row most contracts care about most. It shows whether the policy is written on an occurrence or claims-made basis. It also shows where the general aggregate applies: per policy, per project, per location, or another basis. A per-project aggregate means a claim on another job does not use up the limit on yours. A per-policy aggregate does not give you that.
The liability limits. The row lists each occurrence, damage to rented premises, medical expense, personal and advertising injury, general aggregate, and products-completed operations aggregate. Your contract will name the limits it wants. Compare the numbers to the contract, line by line.
Automobile liability. The boxes show which autos the policy covers: any auto, owned autos only, hired autos only, scheduled autos, or non-owned autos only. The limit is either a combined single limit or split bodily injury and property damage limits. If your crew drives to the site, this row matters.
Umbrella or excess liability. This row shows whether you carry a policy that sits above the underlying ones, and its limits. For how an umbrella works and why the name on it matters, see our guide to umbrella policies and LLCs for Texas rental property.
Workers’ compensation. The row shows the policy number, the dates, and statutory limits, plus a box for owners or officers who are excluded from coverage. Read that last box. Ask your agent what an excluded owner means for your own injury.
Other. Often used for professional liability or cyber coverage.
ADDL INSD and SUBR WVD. Two small columns, and they cause the most trouble. ADDL INSD means additional insured. SUBR WVD means waiver of subrogation, which stops your insurer from suing the other party after it pays a claim. Total CSR says the agent should mark either column only when an endorsement on that policy provides it. TDI’s FAQ says the same about the additional insured box.
Policy number and dates. Each row has its own policy number, effective date, and expiration date. These are the fields to check for a gap.
Description of operations. A free-text box for the job, the location, or the vehicles. It can mention policy endorsements, but it cannot add coverage. Total CSR lists “promising coverage in the description box” as a common mistake. Texas rules also bar certificate language that alters, amends, or extends the policy.
Certificate holder. The name and address of whoever asked for the certificate, in the lower left. Being listed here does not give the holder any rights in the policy.
Cancellation. The printed language says notice will be delivered in accordance with the policy provisions. Section 1811.155 explains the effect. A person has a right to notice of cancellation or nonrenewal only if the person is named in the policy or an endorsement and the policy, an endorsement, or Texas law requires that notice. A certificate cannot change those terms.
Authorized representative. The signature of someone at your agency.
The disclaimer. The form states that it is issued as a matter of information only and confers no rights on the certificate holder. That sentence is the form saying what the statute says.
What additional insured actually means
Additional insured is the one request that trips up new owners. The general contractor’s contract may say “name us as additional insured.” That asks your insurer to add the contractor to your policy for claims arising from your work, so the contractor can be protected by your coverage and not only its own.
It happens by endorsement. Your insurer issues a form that names the party, and the policy then changes. TDI’s FAQ says the box on the certificate should be checked only when the policy has an endorsement naming the holder. Total CSR gives the same answer: the certificate can only report that the endorsement exists, and the status comes from the endorsement. Total CSR names the CG 20 37 as one example, a completed operations additional insured form.
Some policies carry a blanket additional insured endorsement that covers any party your written contract requires. TDI says in that case the certificate cannot name the holder, but it can state that the policy contains a blanket additional insured endorsement. Whether your policy has a blanket form, and whether the wording matches what your contract demands, is a question for your agent. Ask for a copy of the endorsement and read it.
What a COI does not prove
The certificate is a snapshot. Here is what it leaves out.
- That the policy is still in force. Total CSR calls a certificate proof of coverage at one point in time. A policy can be cancelled the next day. Unless you are named in the policy and entitled to notice under Section 1811.155, the insurer owes you nothing when it happens.
- That the holder is covered. A name in the certificate holder box is not additional insured status. Without an endorsement, the holder has a piece of paper.
- That the limit is still there. The aggregate is a total ceiling across claims. A certificate printed in January does not show what earlier claims spent by June.
- That your job is covered. The certificate does not list exclusions. A policy can exclude work, materials, or conditions that your contract assumes it covers. The words in the policy control, as Section 1811.152 says.
- That the business is licensed. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation says anyone who performs non-exempt electrical work must be licensed and work through a licensed electrical contractor, and that contractors who install, repair, or maintain air conditioning, refrigeration, or heating systems must hold a TDLR license. Insurance does not replace a license.
- That the insurer is sound. The form gives the insurer’s name and NAIC number. It does not rate the company.
If the contract asks for more
Some contracts ask for a supplemental questionnaire or a copy of the policy. Section 1811.055 bars a person from requiring an agent or insurer to provide other documents, either in addition to or instead of a certificate, that conflict with Chapter 1811. TDI’s FAQ says supplemental questionnaires are not allowed, and that a holder may ask for a copy of the policy or its endorsements. Your agent can tell you what the contract may and may not demand.
Before you sign a contract with an insurance clause, give it to your agent. Ask three things: does my policy carry the endorsements this contract requires, does the limit meet the number in the contract, and when does each policy expire. I am a landlord and a construction estimator, not an insurance agent, so those questions go to a licensed one. Read the form, not the brochure.