What to gather before requesting a COI
A practical information checklist for the conversation with your insurance agent.
The six-part preparation checklist
- Your identity: business legal name and the name of the person making the request.
- The recipient: client-confirmed legal name and certificate holder mailing address.
- The job: a plain-language project description and city and state.
- The timing: planned work dates and when the documents are needed.
- The requirements: the client’s actual wording, plus any requests the agent should review separately.
- The handoff: verified delivery instructions and a way to clarify outstanding questions.
This is a preparation aid, not a list of mandatory fields for every insurance provider. Your agent may need other information or supporting documents.
If something is missing
Ask the person who requested the certificate to supply the recipient details and requirements. If you have only a verbal instruction, ask for written confirmation before describing it as an exact requirement. Mark incomplete details openly.
Keep sensitive material out of public tools
You do not need to enter policy numbers or upload a full contract into this builder. Provide any sensitive supporting material directly through your agent’s usual secure channel. The builder works without uploads and does not submit its form to our server.
Before the handoff
Read the generated request from top to bottom. Remove irrelevant details, verify dates and check that selected special requests match what your client actually asked for. The generated wording organizes your inputs; it does not independently verify them.
Use the interactive checklist
Open the preparation checklist to work through the six items. You can also try a fictional filled example before entering your own information.
How this checklist was developed
This is an original organizational resource created for the COI Desk workflow. It is not an insurer’s approved intake form, a legal requirements list or an official certificate.