Short answer
Subcontractor insurance tracking means collecting each sub’s certificate of insurance, verifying limits, policy dates and endorsements against the subcontract, chasing renewals before coverage lapses, and retaining dated evidence for owner audits and claims. CertShield automates the reading and chasing for general contractors from $99 per month, with a person reviewing every verdict before it publishes.
Where sub compliance actually fails
Completed operations is the exposure that outlives the job
Ongoing-operations additional insured status ends when the sub leaves the site. Most construction-defect claims arrive years later, which is precisely when a CG 20 10-only endorsement stops protecting you.
A shared aggregate is not your limit
A sub carrying a $2,000,000 general aggregate is sharing it across every job they take that year. On anything material, a per-project aggregate is the difference between a real limit and a nominal one.
The certificate arrives, the endorsements do not
The ADDL INSD box is checked and no endorsement page is attached. It is the most common gap on real certificates, and the one your GL carrier will point at first.
Owner and lender audits ask for history
Closeout means producing evidence per sub, per job — not a current status page. If that evidence is a shared drive, closeout takes a week.
What you get
Per-project requirements
Different jobs, different owners, different limits. Requirements are stored once and applied to every incoming certificate for that project.
Endorsement verification, not checkbox trust
CG 20 10, CG 20 37, primary and non-contributory, and waivers are checked as documents. A claim with no attached form is flagged, not passed.
Chasing that reaches the agent
Sequences go to the producer with the sub copied, escalating on a cadence, in English and Spanish — which matters in this trade base more than in most.
Closeout packs per project
Every certificate, endorsement, verdict and message for a job, exported as one ZIP for the owner, the lender or counsel.
Agent confirmations on file
Request a written confirm or deny from the producer directly from the review screen — the only check that does not depend on the PDF being genuine.
Carrier checks
NAIC identity and financial-strength rating checked on every certificate, so a real limit is not sitting behind a carrier that cannot pay it.
Set the requirements before you need them
Once a sub is off the job you have no leverage left to add an endorsement, which is why completed-operations status and per-project aggregates belong in the subcontract rather than in a follow-up email. Typical bands by trade, and the exact endorsement forms to name, are collected here:
Vendor insurance requirements by trade · CG 20 10 vs CG 20 37
Frequently asked
- What is subcontractor insurance tracking?
- It is the process of collecting each subcontractor's certificate of insurance, verifying that coverage limits, policy dates and endorsements meet the requirements in their subcontract, chasing renewals before coverage lapses, and retaining dated evidence of all of it for owner audits and claims.
- What insurance should a general contractor require from subs?
- Commonly $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate general liability, statutory workers' compensation with $1,000,000 employers liability, $1,000,000 combined single limit auto, plus umbrella for high-hazard trades — and additional insured status for both ongoing and completed operations, primary and non-contributory wording, and waivers of subrogation. Set your own numbers with your broker.
- Why does completed operations matter so much for subs?
- Because construction claims surface after the work is done. A CG 20 10 endorsement protects you while the sub is on site; a CG 20 37 protects you for the years afterwards, which is the longer and more litigious window.
- How does this help at project closeout?
- Every document, verdict and chase message is retained in an append-only trail, so a closeout pack for a project — or a litigation pack for a single sub — is an export rather than a week of reconstruction.
- Do my subs need to create accounts?
- No. Subs upload through a magic link with no password, or simply reply to the chase email with the certificate attached.
- Will it detect a sub's policy being cancelled mid-term?
- No, and nothing can promise that — carriers do not broadcast mid-term cancellations to certificate holders. Expirations are caught and chased automatically; cancellation risk is mitigated with written producer confirmations, notice-of-cancellation endorsements in the subcontract, and re-verification on every new document.
Managing properties rather than projects? See COI tracking for property managers.