COI request email templates for subcontractors and their insurance agents

What gets a request answered fast

• Exact certificate-holder wording. Your legal name and mailing address, ready to paste: "ABC Builders, LLC", not "ABC".
• The project. Name, street address and job number.
• The minimums. A dollar figure per line. Start from insurance requirements by trade if you have none.
• Endorsements as documents. Name each one and ask for the page. A checked box on the certificate is only a summary.
• A real date. "By March 6", not "before mobilization".
• One return path. One upload link or mailbox, not a project manager's inbox.

Keep the request inside what a certificate can say

The ACORD 25 says on its face that it is for information only and does not amend, extend or alter the policies' coverage. It also warns that an additional insured needs policy provisions or an endorsement. Some states set limits in statute:

• Texas (any risk located in Texas): a certificate does not change coverage (Tex. Ins. Code §1811.152) and may not refer to requirements in a construction contract (§1811.154). No one may require a certificate on a form the Texas Department of Insurance has not approved (§1811.052); ACORD forms count as approved once filed (§1811.103). TDI confirms agents may still send copies of endorsements.
• New York: no one may wilfully require certificate wording the policy does not expressly include (N.Y. Ins. Law §502(b)).

So ask for the standard ACORD 25 plus the endorsement pages. Do not send your own certificate form or ask the agent to type "per subcontract section 11" in the description box.

The seven emails at a glance

Email 1: first COI request to the subcontractor

Send it at award, with the requirements in the body; attachments get skipped. Put the same list in the bid package too: endorsements can carry a premium charge, and NCCI's rules allow one for the workers' comp waiver of subrogation.

Subject: Certificate of insurance needed for [Project name] by [date]

Hi [First name],

Welcome to [Project name] at [project street address, city, state]. Before your crew starts on [mobilization date], we need a current certificate of insurance and endorsement pages from your insurance agent.

Certificate holder (please print exactly): [GC legal name], [street address], [city, state ZIP]

Minimum coverage:

• General liability: $[X] each occurrence, $[X] general aggregate, $[X] products-completed operations aggregate
• Auto liability: $[X] combined single limit
• Umbrella or excess: $[X]
• Workers' compensation: statutory; employers liability $[X] each accident, $[X] disease each employee, $[X] disease policy limit

Endorsement pages: additional insured for ongoing and completed operations naming [GC legal name], [owner legal name] and [others listed in the subcontract]; waiver of subrogation on general liability, auto and workers' comp; primary and non-contributory on general liability.

Please have your agent send everything to [upload link or email] by [date], or reply with your agent's name and email and we will ask them directly.

Thanks, [your name, title, phone]

Email 2: the same request, sent to the agent or broker

The agent or broker in the PRODUCER box issues the certificate, so writing to them saves a round trip.

Subject: COI request: [Subcontractor legal name], [Project name], holder [GC legal name]

Hello [Agent name],

[Subcontractor legal name] starts work for us on [Project name], [project address], on [date]. Please issue a certificate of insurance on the ACORD 25.

Certificate holder: [GC legal name], [street address], [city, state ZIP]

Description of operations, where the policy supports it: Project: [Project name], [project address], job no. [number]. [GC legal name], [owner legal name] and [other parties] are additional insureds on general liability for ongoing and completed operations per the attached endorsements.

Endorsement pages to attach:

• Additional insured, ongoing operations (for example ISO CG 20 10, or a blanket form such as CG 20 38)
• Additional insured, completed operations (for example ISO CG 20 37, or CG 20 40)
• Primary and non-contributory (for example ISO CG 20 01)
• Waiver of subrogation: general liability (for example ISO CG 24 04), auto, and workers' comp (for example NCCI WC 00 03 13)

Minimum limits: [paste the list from email 1]

If the policy does not include an item above, tell us which one rather than adding it to the certificate, and copy [sub contact]. Please send everything to [upload link or email] by [date].

Thank you, [your name, title, company, phone]

Email 3: renewal reminder 30 days before expiry

Key it to the earliest expiration date on the certificate; lines often renew on different dates. Ask for renewal endorsements too: a renewed policy can carry new forms or a new carrier. If the certificate already lapsed, see what to do when a sub's COI expires mid-project.

Subject: Renewal certificate needed: [Subcontractor legal name], [coverage line] expires [date]

Hi [First name] and [Agent name],

Our file shows the [general liability / auto / umbrella / workers' comp] policy [policy number] for [Subcontractor legal name] expires on [date]. [Project name] runs through [scheduled completion], so we need the renewal before that date.

Please upload an updated certificate (same holder: [GC legal name], [address]) and the renewed policy's endorsement pages to [link] by [date, a week before expiry]. Please flag any change in limits, forms or carrier.

Thanks, [your name, title, phone]

Email 4: request for missing endorsement pages

A checked ADDL INSD or SUBR WVD box is a summary; the ACORD 25 says a statement on the certificate confers no rights in place of the endorsement. Blanket forms such as ISO CG 20 38 cover any party the sub agreed in writing to add and name no one, so the blanket page plus your subcontract is the evidence. If a limit came back low instead, use the correction request for a short COI.

Subject: Endorsement pages missing: [Subcontractor legal name] certificate dated [date]

Hello [Agent name],

The certificate dated [date] for [Subcontractor legal name] on [Project name] marks [additional insured / waiver of subrogation] for [general liability / auto / workers' comp], but the endorsement pages were not attached.

Please send each missing page, with its form number and edition date: [additional insured, ongoing and completed operations / primary and non-contributory / waiver of subrogation, by line].

[If you accept blanket forms:] If the policy uses a blanket endorsement, send that page; it will not list our name. If any item is not on the policy, tell us which one and copy [sub contact].

Please send to [link or email] by [date]. Thank you, [your name, title, phone]

Email 5: final notice before the subcontract's remedies apply

Send it after two unanswered requests, to the person who signed the subcontract. State what is missing, when you asked, the new date and the section that applies.

Subject: Final notice: insurance documents for [Project name] due [date]

[First name],

We asked for the items below on [first request date] and [second request date] and have not received them:

• [Item, for example a current general liability certificate]
• [Item, for example the additional insured endorsement page]

Section [X] of our subcontract dated [date] requires these documents [before work starts / for the duration of the work]. If we do not have them by [date and time], we will [the step section X provides, for example hold site access until they arrive], per the subcontract.

[Your name, title, phone]

Email 6: lien waiver request for a pay application

Ask for the waiver that matches this payment's exact amount and through-date. Where a state prescribes the form, use it: Texas makes a waiver unenforceable unless it substantially complies with the statutory form (Tex. Prop. Code §53.284(a)). A few state forms also need a notary or witness. Check lien waiver requirements by state and conditional vs. unconditional waivers.

Subject: Lien waiver for pay app #[number]: [Project name], $[amount]

Hi [First name],

We are processing pay application #[number] for [Project name], for work through [period end date]. For this payment cycle we need:

• A conditional waiver on progress payment for $[amount] through [period end date], on [the attached form / your state's statutory form]
• An unconditional waiver for our payment of $[prior amount] on [date] [delete if not used on this project]
• [If the subcontract requires it: waivers from your lower-tier subs and suppliers for the prior payment]

If the amount or through-date does not match the pay app, tell us before you sign and we will correct the form. Please return it by [date] through [link or email].

Thanks, [your name, title, phone]

Email 7: W-9 request

Send it before the first payment and ask for an upload, not an email attachment: the form carries a Social Security or employer identification number. For refusals and backup withholding, see W-9s from subcontractors.

Subject: Form W-9 needed before first payment: [Subcontractor legal name]

Hi [First name],

Before we can set up [Subcontractor legal name] for payment on [Project name], we need a completed IRS Form W-9, current revision (March 2024). The blank form is at irs.gov/FormW9.

Three things that slow processing:

• Line 1 should match the name on your tax return. Sole proprietors put the owner's name on line 1 and the business name on line 2.
• Check only one tax classification box on line 3a.
• The taxpayer identification number in Part I must match the name on line 1.

Please upload it at [secure link] rather than replying by email. Questions go to [AP contact, phone].

Thanks, [your name, accounts payable]

Where SubLien fits

SubLien sends COI and W-9 requests with secure upload links. Certificate renewal reminders start 30 days before the earliest coverage line expires, and you can have them copy the vendor's insurance agent. AI prefills the ACORD 25, SubLien compares it with your minimums, and a named person on your team records the decision. Lien waivers go out for e-signature with the signing evidence kept, or for upload where the state form needs a notary or witness. W-9s are stored as private source files; SubLien never reads, extracts or checks what is on them. It does not decide coverage or hold payments. See COI tracking.

Common questions

What should a certificate of insurance request letter include?

The certificate holder exactly as it should print, the project name and address, each coverage line's minimum limit, the endorsement pages you need, a due date and one place to send everything.

Should I send the COI request to the subcontractor or their insurance agent?

Both. The sub owns the policy and the contract duty, but the agent in the PRODUCER box issues the certificate and endorsement pages. Copying the agent removes a forwarding step.

Can I ask the agent to add contract language to the certificate?

It will not help, and some states bar it. Texas bars certificates from referring to construction-contract requirements (Tex. Ins. Code §1811.154); New York bars wilfully requiring wording the policy does not include (N.Y. Ins. Law §502). Ask for the endorsement pages instead.

Is the certificate holder automatically an additional insured?

No. The ACORD 25 says it confers no rights on the certificate holder and that an additional insured needs policy provisions or an endorsement. Being the holder only means the certificate was issued to you.

Is it safe to collect W-9s by email?

A W-9 carries a Social Security or employer identification number, so a secure upload link is safer than an email attachment, which sits in inboxes and gets forwarded.

Primary sources

• Texas Insurance Code, Chapter 1811: certificate rules (§§1811.052, 1811.103, 1811.152, 1811.154).
• Texas Department of Insurance, certificate FAQ: what a certificate can say; agents may send endorsement copies.
• Texas Department of Insurance, filed ACORD 25 specimen: the form's additional insured and waiver warnings.
• New York Insurance Law §502: limits on requiring certificate wording and on what a certificate can change.
• City of Sierra Madre, Calif., sample endorsements: ISO CG 20 10, 20 37, 20 38, 20 40, 20 01, 24 04 and NCCI WC 00 03 13.
• Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, 2015 bulletin: NCCI waiver form WC 00 03 13 and its premium charge.
• Texas Property Code, Chapter 53: §53.284 statutory lien waiver forms.
• IRS, About Form W-9 and Form W-9: current revision (March 2024) and line 1, line 3a and Part I instructions.