How to Complete the ACORD 25 Certificate of Liability

What Is the ACORD 25 Form?

It is the standardized form agencies use as proof of insurance for liability lines.

Many agencies call it the certificate of liability insurance form.

It is also the most common certificate of insurance form in the insurance industry.

It comes from ACORD, the nonprofit that publishes standard insurance forms.

A client's landlord or business partner may request a certificate before work starts.

You can download a sample certificate to follow along.

How to Fill Out the ACORD Certificate of Liability Insurance

Work top to bottom, and copy every detail from the current policy.

Header boxes

1. Date The date you issue the certificate.
2. Producer The agency name, address and contact. This is the insurance producer.
3. Insured The exact named insured and mailing address from the policy.
4. Insurers A to F Each issuing insurer and its NAIC number.
5. Certificate number Usually assigned by your agency management system (AMS).

Coverages, Limits and Endorsement Boxes

The form lists four main types of coverage, plus a blank line.

Each line gets an insurer letter, a policy number, and start and end dates.

• Commercial general liability insurance: occurrence or claims-made, and how the aggregate limit applies.
• Coverage limits: per-occurrence limit, rented premises damage, personal and advertising injury.
• Automobile liability: commercial auto insurance symbols, like any, owned, hired, or non-owned.
• Auto limits: combined single limit, or split bodily injury and property damage limits.
• Umbrella liability or excess: commercial umbrella insurance, occurrence or claims-made, plus limits.
• Workers' compensation: statutory limits and the owner exclusion box.
• Other: often professional liability insurance (errors and omissions insurance) or cyber insurance.

Enter each policy effective date and policy expiration date from the insurance declarations page.

Two columns need extra care.

Check Y only when an endorsement on that policy provides it.

Bottom of the form

Use the description of operations box for the job, location, or vehicles involved.

It can reference policy endorsements, but it cannot add coverage.

Enter the certificate holder name and mailing address in the lower left.

The cancellation box says notice will be delivered under the policy provisions.

An authorized representative of the agency signs at the bottom.

Common Mistakes on a Certificate of Liability Insurance

• Wrong or expired insurance policy numbers.
• Dates that do not match the declarations.
• Limits copied from an old renewal.
• Y in ADDL INSD with no endorsement behind it.
• Promising coverage in the description box.
• A missing or wrong NAIC number.

A quick policy review before sending catches most of these.

Hypothetical example: a property manager asks a contractor's agency for a COI.

1. Lease requirements The lease sets insurance requirements, including required liability limits. It also says the manager must be an additional insured.
2. Policy check The CSR checks the policy and finds no endorsement.
3. Carrier request The CSR asks the carrier to add an endorsement before marking Y.

Catching this early helps avoid coverage gaps on the job.

Read more on the difference between the two roles.