Certificate of insurance (COI) tracking is a vital risk-management activity. Without an efficient process and visibility into this critical area, you may needlessly expose yourself and your insurer to potential liability.

According to a recent survey of CRE professionals, 70% of property owners and managers admit that their tenants could easily bring in a vendor without them knowing – posing a HUGE risk to their business!

The time is now to evaluate your COI safeguards, and we’ve got three best practice tips to share:

  1. Request a valid Certificate of Insurance from each tenant and vendor that shows your organization named as an additional insured. Then, make sure that you get it. Send them an example certificate so that there is no confusion.
  2. Read the coverage limits on the COI to make sure that they comply with the insurance coverage requirements of your leases with your tenants and all service contracts executed with your vendors.
  3. Don’t be afraid to request changes to coverage limits if they do not meet the minimum requirements outlined in your own contracts and leases.

Remember, the operational risks to a commercial property are many – at every turn is an opportunity for a slip-and-fall, a hazardous material leak, or… worse. To compound that, the expectations and legal requirements that property teams are not only required to do, but also need to do, to protect themselves from liability are high. Make sure your building is protected, and learn more about managing the operational risk in our latest CRE Guide here.

Pssst…

Building Engines Certificate of Insurance Manager moves all your COIs into a single, online database and automates the entire process through proactive alerts and expiration notifications. You’ll have complete, real-time visibility into the COI status of every tenant and vendor on your property, ultimately reducing incurred losses and insurance premiums.

Learn more here.