How to Get Subcontractors to Send Their COIs, Without Chasing Them
Most subs who don't send a certificate aren't hiding anything. The certificate has to come from their insurance agent, and somewhere between your email and that agent the request stalls. This guide covers why requests stall, how to write one a sub can act on the same day, a follow-up schedule that doesn't nag, how early to ask for renewals, and what to do when the wrong certificate turns up.
Subs send certificates when the request is easy to pass to their insurance agent: your exact certificate holder name and address, the limits and endorsements you need, a date, and one place to upload, with no login. Follow up once after about three days, then call. Ask for renewals about 30 days before the policy expires. When the wrong certificate arrives, reply the same day with exactly what's wrong so the agent can fix it in one go.
In this guide
Why requests stall
A certificate request passes through two people before it comes back: the sub, then their agent. Each reason below is a place where it stops:
| Where it stalls | What's happening | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| "Send us your COI" | The sub forwards a vague request to their agent, who issues a generic certificate, or asks the sub what you need and waits | Say exactly what you need, in words the sub can forward unchanged |
| The wrong inbox | The request goes to an office address while the owner who deals with insurance is on a roof | Send it to the person who answers, and copy the office |
| No date | Without a deadline it's the least urgent email in the inbox | Give a date, tied to something real: the start date, or the policy's expiry |
| A portal with a login | Creating an account to upload one PDF is where a lot of subs give up | One link, no account, works from a phone |
| It already bounced once | Last time the sub sent a certificate it came back as wrong, with no detail | Say what was wrong, specifically |
| Nobody follows up | One email, then silence, reads as "not important" | One follow-up, then a call |
Notice what isn't on the list: a sub with no insurance. That happens, and the request is how you find out, but it's the exception. Most silence is friction.
Write a request a sub can act on
The test of a good request: could the sub forward it to their agent without adding a word, and get the right certificate back? That means it carries:
- Your exact certificate holder name and address, the legal entity, not the trading name.
- The coverage and limits you require: general liability, auto, workers' comp, umbrella, with the minimums.
- The endorsements, by name: additional insured, waiver of subrogation, primary and noncontributory, and the endorsement pages themselves, not just ticked boxes.
- A date, and why: "before you start on the Elm Street job on the 14th".
- One place to send it, that works from a phone without an account.
A full letter with every field is in COI for subcontractors. For a sub you already work with, the short version is enough:
Hi [name], before you start at [project] on [date] we need a current certificate of insurance. Could you forward this to your agent?
Certificate holder: [legal name, address]. General liability [limits], auto [limit], workers' comp at statutory limits, umbrella [limit]. [Legal name] as additional insured for ongoing and completed operations, with waiver of subrogation and primary and noncontributory, and please include the endorsement pages.
Upload it here by [date]: [link]. Thanks.
Asking the sub to forward it to their agent, or to let the agent send it straight to you, is the single biggest shortcut. Agents issue certificates every day, usually free, and an agent with the right details gets it right first time.
A follow-up schedule that doesn't nag
Email works for the first ask and one reminder. After that, more email mostly teaches the sub to ignore you. For a new request:
The request
Everything above, with a date and the link.
One follow-up
Short, the same link, and the list of what's still missing. Not a new request with a new link, which leaves two in their inbox.
A phone call
Ask who their agent is. Half the time the answer is "I forwarded it", and you can call the agent yourself.
Hold the start
Make "certificate on file before work starts" a subcontract condition, so the date means something.
Two rules make this work. Space the messages out, so two emails never land on the same day from different people in your office. And reuse one link, so the sub's first email still works when they finally get to it.
Renewals: how early to ask
A renewal certificate has a timing problem a new one doesn't: it usually can't be issued until the renewed policy is in place, which is often in the last week or two before the old one expires. Ask too early and the sub has nothing to send; ask on the expiry date and you've already got a gap.
| Before expiry | What to send |
|---|---|
| 90 and 60 days | A heads-up, for subs who renew late or are changing insurer. No action needed yet |
| 30 days | The real ask: the renewal certificate when the policy renews, by the expiry date |
| 7 days | The urgent one, plainly dated. This is where a phone call earns its time |
| Expired | A same-day ask, and a decision about whether they're on site tomorrow |
The urgency should rise with the deadline. A sub who gets "ACTION REQUIRED" ninety days out learns that your subject lines mean nothing, and stops opening them before the one that matters. General liability, auto and workers' comp often renew on different dates, so each policy runs on its own schedule.
When the wrong certificate arrives
A wrong certificate is progress: the sub responded, and the agent is engaged. What you do next decides whether the second one is right. The usual problems:
- Expired or about to. Last year's certificate, sent from the sub's files rather than requested fresh.
- Wrong certificate holder. A trading name, an old address, or another GC's name from the last job. See who the certificate holder is.
- No endorsements. The ADDL INSD box ticked with no endorsement page behind it.
- Limits below your minimum, or a line missing altogether, often auto or umbrella.
Reply the same day, and name the fix: "the certificate holder must read ABC Builders LLC, 12 Main St, and we need the CG 20 10 and CG 20 37 pages". Ask the sub to forward that line to their agent. The COI audit checklist covers everything to check before you approve one.
Taking yourself out of the loop
Everything above works by hand for ten subs. At fifty, the schedule is the first thing to slip, because nobody owns the calendar. That's the part worth handing to software: the request goes out with the link, the follow-up goes out if nothing comes back, the renewal asks go out on their dates, and you only hear about the subs who still haven't answered. Automated expiration alerts covers how the reminders work, and contractor onboarding covers the first request.
How TrackMyVendor automates this
- One link per sub, no account. Every reminder reuses it, so the link in their first email still works.
- A follow-up three days after an unanswered request, listing what's still missing, unless someone has emailed them since.
- You see when they opened the link, so you know whether to chase the sub or their agent.
- Renewal reminders at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days go to the sub with the upload link, getting firmer as the date gets closer. Starter
Automatic and bulk sends skip a sub emailed in the last 48 hours, and a send by hand inside that window asks first. We can't make their agent faster: when a sub goes quiet after all of it, the phone call is still yours.
See how the reminders workStop being the one who chases
Subs upload from a phone through one link — no account, no portal. Unanswered requests get followed up for you, and every certificate is read and tracked on its own dates. Your first 25 contractors are free.