Organizer's Guide
How to read a certificate of insurance.
A plain-language field-by-field walkthrough for event organizers, market managers, and anyone who needs to approve vendor insurance without a broker on call.
What you're actually looking at
A vendor sends you a PDF. Before you know what to check, it helps to know what the document is — and isn't.
The form you'll almost always receive is the ACORD 25, the industry-standard Certificate of Liability Insurance. It's issued by the vendor's insurance agent and looks the same regardless of which company is providing coverage. Every field has a standard name, so this walkthrough applies to certificates from any insurer.
Three things the COI does not do:
- It doesn't guarantee a claim will be paid. It shows coverage exists at the time of issuance. The underlying policy governs what gets paid.
- It doesn't bind coverage. The certificate is evidence of an existing policy — it can't create new coverage or extend limits beyond the policy.
- It doesn't give you automatic cancellation notice. The 30-day notice requirement was removed from the standard ACORD form in 2009. You have no contractual right to notice unless your vendor contract specifies it.
Knowing these limits matters as much as knowing the fields. The COI is a starting point, not a guarantee — which is why organizers review it carefully rather than just filing it away.
Why are you the one reviewing it? Because as the event organizer or market manager, you'll typically be named as additional insured on the vendor's policy. That means you have a real liability stake in whether the document is correct — if coverage lapses or the limits are wrong, it's your exposure too.
The ACORD 25 form, field by field
Here's what each section of the certificate tells you, in the order you'll encounter them reading top to bottom.
1
Producer
The insurance agent or broker who issued the certificate — not the insurer. This is who the vendor calls to request changes. If you need corrected language (for example, your organization's name added as additional insured), the vendor contacts their producer. Good agents turn these around in hours.
2
Insured
The vendor. Confirm this exactly matches the business name in your vendor agreement. A certificate issued to "Joe's Tacos LLC" doesn't cover "Joe's Tacos" the DBA — know which name the vendor operates under at your event and make sure the two match.
3
Insurers A–F
The companies providing the coverage listed below. You can verify a carrier's license status through your state's department of insurance. Seeing "Surplus Lines" or an unfamiliar carrier name isn't automatically disqualifying — many small vendors use surplus lines markets — but it's worth noting.
4
Type of Insurance
The coverage rows. For most events you need a checkmark next to Commercial General Liability (CGL). Do not accept an "Owners & Contractors Protective" policy in its place — that's a different coverage type that protects the vendor's client, not you. Each row (CGL, auto, umbrella, workers' comp) covers a separate type of exposure.
5
Policy Number
Record it. This is what ties the certificate to an actual policy in the insurer's system. If there's ever a dispute or a claim, the policy number is how the insurer confirms the coverage.
6
Policy Effective / Expiration Dates
The most commonly overlooked field. The dates must bracket your entire event or season, not just the date the certificate was issued. A certificate submitted in April may show a policy that expires June 1 — if your event runs June 15, that vendor is uninsured at your event. For ongoing markets: policies that started mid-year renew mid-year, not at season start.
7
Limits
The dollar figures. The two rows most organizers focus on: Each Occurrence (the per-incident cap — typically $1,000,000 minimum for most events) and General Aggregate (the total policy cap — typically $2,000,000). For food vendors, also check the Products – Comp/Op Aggregate row, which covers claims from products sold. Don't confuse aggregate with per-occurrence: a $1M aggregate policy with a $500K per-occurrence limit provides less protection than it sounds.
8
Certificate Holder
The entity that receives a copy of the certificate. The certificate holder also gets notified if the policy is cancelled (per the policy provisions — there's no automatic 30-day notice right on the form itself). This is not the same as being an additional insured. See the certificate holder vs. additional insured guide for why the distinction matters.
9
Description of Operations / Additional Insured
The large text box near the bottom. This is where additional-insured language must appear. It should explicitly name your organization: something like "Austin Farmers Market is named as Additional Insured as respects Commercial General Liability." If this box is blank or omits your name, the certificate is incomplete for your purposes — send it back to the vendor and ask them to have their agent add the language.
10
Cancellation Notice
The boilerplate at the bottom about policy cancellation notice. The old standard that gave certificate holders 30 days' written notice was removed from the ACORD form in 2009. The current language says notice will be delivered "in accordance with the policy provisions" — which may be less than 30 days. If cancellation notice matters for your program, address it in your vendor agreement, not just the COI.
The ACORD 25 form was most recently revised in 2016. The field layout has been stable; if you receive a certificate with a slightly different visual arrangement, the field names are your guide.
The three mistakes organizers make
Most COI problems at events trace back to one of three oversights:
- Accepting a certificate that names the wrong entity. If the vendor operates under multiple names — a legal LLC and a trade name, or a parent company and a subsidiary — the certificate must show the name they're using at your event. A mismatch means you have documentation for a business that isn't operating at your event.
- Not re-checking expiration every season. A certificate that was valid when submitted may expire mid-season or before the event. Filing it away once is not enough. Vendors with annual policies that started in the middle of the year will renew mid-year — which is exactly when many seasonal markets are in full swing.
- Confusing certificate holder with additional insured. Your name in the Certificate Holder box gives you a copy and, depending on the policy, notification of cancellation. It does not give you the right to make a claim against the vendor's policy. For that, you need to be named as additional insured in the Description of Operations box. Both matter, and both should be present. See the certificate holder vs. additional insured explainer for the full breakdown.
Once you know what you're looking at, the hard part is staying current as policies expire.
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Can I require a vendor to change what's on their COI?
Yes. The vendor contacts their producer (insurance agent) and requests a new certificate with the correct language. It's a standard process — good agents turn these around in hours. If the certificate is missing your additional-insured language or shows the wrong limits, you're entitled to ask for a corrected one.
What does "certificate is for information only and confers no rights" mean?
Every ACORD 25 form includes this disclaimer near the top. It means the certificate is a snapshot of coverage at the time of issuance — it doesn't amend or extend the underlying policy. It's legal protective language for the agent, not a reason to distrust the certificate. What matters is verifying the actual dates, limits, and additional-insured language.
How often should I re-collect COIs from vendors?
For one-time events: once before the event, for coverage that's valid through the event date. For ongoing markets or seasonal programs: at the start of each season, and again whenever a policy renews mid-season. Vendors with annual policies that started mid-year will have a renewal date mid-season — which is why tracking expiration dates, not just collecting certificates, matters.