You can be the best crew in the region and still lose a job over paperwork. A missing certificate, an expired policy date, or an unapproved profile on ISNetworld can keep you off a site for weeks.
At Tillman Insurance, we handle that paperwork for our contractor clients. We issue certificates of insurance (COIs) fast, make sure they say what your customer needs them to say, and help get your insurance approved on prequalification platforms like Veriforce ONE, ISN, and Avetta. You focus on the work. We keep you compliant.
What is a COI, and why does everyone want one?
A certificate of insurance is a one-page summary of your coverage. It shows your carriers, policy numbers, effective dates, and limits for coverages like general liability, auto, workers’ compensation, and umbrella.
General contractors, property owners, plants, and utilities ask for a COI before you set foot on their site. They want proof that if something goes wrong, your insurance responds first, not theirs.
Most requests go beyond a basic certificate. Your customer may require:
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Additional insured status naming them on your general liability or auto policy
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Waiver of subrogation so your insurer can’t pursue them after a claim
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Primary and non-contributory wording so your policy pays before theirs
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Specific minimum limits, often higher than what you carry today
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Notice of cancellation if your coverage changes
A certificate can only show coverage your policy actually provides. If the endorsement isn’t on the policy, the COI can’t fix that. That’s why it pays to work with an agent who reads the contract requirements before issuing anything.
Veriforce, ISN, and Avetta: the prequalification gatekeepers
Many large customers no longer collect COIs by E-Mail. They require contractors to register on a third-party prequalification platform. The platform reviews your safety program, training records, and insurance against that customer’s requirements. Until your profile is approved, you often can’t bid or get on site.
Each platform has its own upload process. Each hiring client can set different limits and wording. Each renewal starts the review over. Miss a detail and your profile gets flagged, your grade drops, or your approval lapses.
How Tillman Insurance helps contractors
We’ve been an independent agency in Cheraw, South Carolina, since 1926. Here’s what we do for contractors:
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Review your contract requirements up front. Send us the insurance section of a contract or a platform’s requirements. We compare it to your policies and tell you where the gaps are before you sign.
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Put the right coverage in place. Because we’re independent, we can shop multiple carriers for general liability, commercial auto, workers’ comp, umbrella, and inland marine. We add the endorsements your customers require, such as additional insured, waiver of subrogation, and primary and non-contributory.
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Issue COIs quickly. Call or email us with the certificate holder and job details. We turn requests around fast so you don’t miss a start date.
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Submit to Veriforce, ISN, and Avetta. We upload your certificates and endorsement forms to the platform for you, so you don’t have to learn each system. If a reviewer flags something, we work with them to fix it.
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Stay ahead of renewals. When your policies renew, we send updated certificates to your customers and platforms so your approvals don’t lapse.
Common mistakes that hold up approvals
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Limits too low. Your customer requires $2 million per occurrence and you carry $1 million. An umbrella policy often closes the gap.
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Missing endorsements. The COI says “additional insured,” but the policy doesn’t include the endorsement. Platforms often ask for the endorsement form itself.
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Wrong certificate holder. The name and address must match the customer’s legal entity exactly.
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Expired dates. Certificates aren’t updated after renewal, and the platform marks you out of compliance.
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Missing workers’ comp. Even small crews may need it for a customer, regardless of state minimums.
Every one of these is avoidable with an agent who knows what reviewers look for.
Let us handle the paperwork
Whether you need one certificate today or help getting approved on Veriforce, ISN, or Avetta, Tillman Insurance can help. Contact our office at 228 Market St in Cheraw, SC, or reach out through our website for a free review of your contractor coverage.
