ACORD 28: What the Evidence of Commercial Property Insurance Shows
The ACORD 28 is the form a tenant's or franchisee's insurance agent sends to show that a commercial property policy is in force: the building or the contents, the amount of insurance, and who has an interest in it. This guide walks through each field, how the form differs from the ACORD 25 and 27, and what it doesn't prove.
The ACORD 28 is the Evidence of Commercial Property Insurance. An insurance agent issues it to show a landlord, lender or franchisor that a commercial property policy is in force: the insurer, policy number and dates, the property covered, the amount of insurance and deductible, and a checklist of features such as business income, replacement cost, flood and wind. It names you as an additional interest (mortgagee, loss payee, lender's loss payable or contract of sale), but by its own wording it confers no rights and doesn't change the policy. Liability insurance is a different form, the ACORD 25.
In this guide
What an ACORD 28 is
ACORD is the nonprofit that publishes the standard forms insurance agents use. Form 28 is titled Evidence of Commercial Property Insurance, and the current edition, printed in its footer, is ACORD 28 (2016/03). The 2013/04 edition before it asks for the same information, with extra space on a remarks page instead of an attached ACORD 101.
It answers one question for someone who isn't the policyholder: is this property insured, for how much, and against what? The agent fills it in from the policy and addresses it to an additional interest, the party with a financial stake in the property, such as the bank holding the mortgage, the landlord, or a franchisor whose agreement requires the cover.
It's the property counterpart of the ACORD 25. The 25 shows a tenant's or vendor's liability insurance; the 28 shows their property insurance. A commercial lease often asks for both, which is why landlords and property managers end up holding two forms per tenant.
The ACORD 28, field by field
The 2016/03 edition is one page plus an optional remarks page. Read top to bottom, it covers:
| Section | What it shows | What to check as a landlord or franchisor |
|---|---|---|
| Agency and insurer | The producer (agent or broker), the insurance company and its NAIC number. One form per insurer: the form says to complete a separate one for each company. | If the tenant's property is split across insurers, you should have one form for each. |
| Insured and policy | The named insured, loan number, policy number, effective and expiration dates, a "continued until terminated" box, and "this replaces prior evidence dated". | The insured is the entity on your lease or franchise agreement, and the expiration date hasn't passed. |
| Property information | The location and description, and whether the cover is on the building, business personal property, or both. An ACORD 101 can be attached when the description doesn't fit. | A tenant usually insures its contents and improvements, not your building. Make sure the box ticked matches what the lease asks of them. |
| Perils insured | Basic, broad or special: the three standard causes-of-loss forms, special being the broadest. | If your lease asks for special form, sometimes called all-risk, this is where it shows. |
| Amount and deductible | The commercial property amount of insurance and the deductible. | The amount meets the lease, and the deductible is one the tenant can actually pay. |
| Business income and coverage checklist | Yes, no or N/A, with limits and deductibles, for business income or rental value, blanket coverage, terrorism, fungus, replacement cost, agreed value, coinsurance, equipment breakdown, ordinance or law, earth movement, flood, wind and hail, and named storm. | Business income keeps a tenant paying rent after a fire. Check every row your lease names, and read the deductible on each: wind and named storm can be "subject to different provisions", with a deductible of their own. |
| Waiver for the mortgage holder | Whether the policy permits waiving subrogation in favor of the mortgage holder before a loss. | Relevant to the lender, rarely to a landlord collecting from a tenant. |
| Cancellation | Notice will be "delivered in accordance with the policy provisions". | The form promises no notice to you. Notice comes only from the policy. |
| Additional interest | Contract of sale, lender's loss payable, loss payee or mortgagee, with the name and address, a lender servicing agent, and the authorized representative's signature. | Your exact legal name and address, and the box your lease or loan requires. |
One line above the checklist is easy to skip: limits shown may have been reduced by paid claims. The amount on the form is the policy limit as written, not what's left of it after a loss earlier in the year.
ACORD 28 vs ACORD 25, 27 and 24
Four ACORD forms get confused with each other. The 28 is the only one built for commercial property with a fixed list of coverage questions:
| ACORD 28 | ACORD 25 | ACORD 27 | ACORD 24 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Evidence of Commercial Property Insurance | Certificate of Liability Insurance | Evidence of Property Insurance | Certificate of Property Insurance |
| Covers | Commercial property: building, contents, business income | General liability, auto, umbrella, workers' comp | Property, as free rows of coverage, amount and deductible | Property |
| Issued to | An additional interest | A certificate holder | An additional interest | A certificate holder |
| Interests it can show | Mortgagee, loss payee, lender's loss payable, contract of sale | Additional insured and waiver of subrogation, per coverage row | Additional insured, mortgagee, loss payee, lender's loss payable | None; a certificate holder box |
| Typical ask | Landlords from commercial tenants, franchisors, lenders | Property managers and GCs from vendors and subs | Lenders on homes and simple property | A holder who only needs to see the property cover |
All four say they're issued as information only and confer no rights. The practical difference between the 25 and the 28 is the kind of policy: when a lease asks a tenant to name you as additional insured on its general liability, that's the 25 and an endorsement. When it asks the tenant to insure its improvements and contents and name you on that policy, that's the 28. The certificate holder vs additional insured guide covers the liability side.
Mortgagee, loss payee and the other interests
The bottom of the ACORD 28 has four boxes for the kind of interest the named party holds. Pick the one your lease or loan asks for, and make sure the policy says the same:
Mortgagee
The lender holding a mortgage on the building, protected through the policy's mortgage clause. A landlord's lender, not usually the landlord.
Loss payee
Paid alongside the insured when property it has an interest in is damaged. A landlord who owns improvements or equipment the tenant insures.
Lender's loss payable
A lender financing property, paid like a loss payee and usually protected even if the borrower's own act voids the cover.
Contract of sale
Someone the insured has contracted to sell the property to, before the sale closes.
On a standard commercial property policy, the loss payee, lender's loss payable and contract of sale options come from one endorsement, ISO's Loss Payable Provisions (CP 12 18). There's no additional insured box on the 2016/03 ACORD 28: additional insured status is a liability idea, and it belongs on the 25. The loss payee, lender's loss payable and mortgagee section of our certificate holder guide sets all of these against the certificate holder and additional insured.
What an ACORD 28 doesn't prove
The box at the top of the form is blunt about it. The evidence is issued as a matter of information only and confers no rights upon the additional interest; it doesn't amend, extend or alter the coverage; and it isn't a contract between the insurer, the agent and you. In practice that means:
- Being named on the form isn't being named on the policy. You're a loss payee or mortgagee when the policy's endorsement or mortgage clause says so. Ask for a copy of the endorsement, or the declarations page that lists you.
- The form promises no notice. Cancellation notice is "delivered in accordance with the policy provisions", so you hear about a cancellation only if the policy owes you that notice. The notice of cancellation guide explains the same wording on the ACORD 25.
- The amount may already be used up. Limits shown may have been reduced by paid claims.
- It's a snapshot. It shows the policy on the date it was issued. A renewal, a change of carrier or a lapse after that date doesn't update the paper in your file.
The expired-form trap: property policies renew once a year, and nobody sends a new ACORD 28 unless someone asks. The form in the lease file is often from the year the tenant moved in. Its expiration date is the field that matters most.
Who asks for one, and when
Landlords and property managers
From commercial tenants, as the lease's insurance exhibit requires: property cover on the tenant's improvements and contents, and often business income. Asked for at lease signing and every renewal.
Franchisors
From franchisees, when the franchise agreement requires property or business interruption cover for each location, alongside the ACORD 25 for liability.
Lenders
From borrowers, naming the bank as mortgagee or lender's loss payable for as long as the loan is outstanding.
Buyers under contract
From a seller between signing and closing, under the contract of sale box.
Service vendors such as HVAC, cleaning or landscaping companies usually don't send one: what you need from them is liability cover on an ACORD 25. The ACORD 28 is for the people who occupy or own the property: tenants, franchisees and borrowers. Commercial real estate COI tracking covers both sides of a building's roster, and franchisee COI tracking covers a franchise system.
Keeping ACORD 28s current
Put the requirement in the lease or agreement
Name the cover (special form, replacement cost, business income for a set number of months), the minimum amount, and the interest you need shown. Have your attorney set the wording once.
Give the exact name and address
Send the tenant the legal name and address to show as the additional interest, so the agent doesn't guess.
Ask for the endorsement with the form
The ACORD 28 confers no rights. The loss payable endorsement or the declarations page is what shows the policy names you.
Check it field by field
The insured, the building or contents box, the perils, the amount, the rows your lease names, and the expiration date.
Ask again before every renewal
A property policy renews yearly. The new form should say which prior evidence it replaces.
With a dozen tenants on different renewal dates, the last step is the one that slips. Automated expiration alerts are how the renewal ask goes out without anyone remembering it.
How TrackMyVendor automates this
- Require the ACORD 28 as its own document, next to the tenant's or franchisee's certificate of insurance, and anyone who hasn't sent one shows it as missing. Starter
- Collected on the same upload link as the ACORD 25: no account, no portal, from a phone. The expiration date is entered with the upload.
- Shown in your Action Queue before it expires, so the renewal ask goes out before the old form lapses.
We read the ACORD 25's coverages automatically; we don't read the ACORD 28's fields. It's collected, filed and tracked by its expiration date, and checking the amount, the perils and the interest against your lease stays with you.
See how COI tracking worksEvery tenant's ACORD 25 and ACORD 28, on one record
Tenants and franchisees upload both through one link — no account, no portal. Each form is tracked on its own dates, so a lapsed property policy shows up before the lease file is pulled. Your first 25 are free.
Frequently asked questions
What is an ACORD 28 form?
What is the difference between an ACORD 25 and an ACORD 28?
What is the difference between an ACORD 27 and an ACORD 28?
Does an ACORD 28 make me a loss payee or mortgagee?
Who fills out and signs an ACORD 28?
Where do I get a blank ACORD 28?
How long is an ACORD 28 good for?
This guide explains how the standard ACORD 28 (2016/03) commonly works. It isn't insurance or legal advice: editions, policy wording and state law differ, and the policy and your lease or agreement govern. Ask your broker and attorney about your own requirements.