Certificate of Insurance

Introducing the NEXT Insurance Live Certificate: Fast, Free, 24/7

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Introducing the NEXT live certificate of insurance

The old way of sharing your certificate of insurance (COI) looked something like this: send multiple emails or play phone tag until everyone got what they needed. Slow, right?

The NEXT way lets you share your COI from your online account instantly, with a live and always up-to-date COI that can be viewed or requested by anyone you choose — anytime, anywhere, for free.

And for even faster COIs, download our mobile app and start sharing and managing your COIs from your device in seconds.

No more back-and-forth. No more phone tag. Just fast, easy COIs for busy people like you and your clients.

COI Essentials

What is a Certificate of Insurance?

A Certificate of Insurance is a document, either electronic or physical, which shows anyone you work with that you have a valid business insurance policy.

Most COI are from a company called Acord, and are sometimes referred to as “Acord certificates.” If you’ve had an insurance policy for some time, you are probably familiar with the PDF version, and may even carry a physical copy around with you.

Many companies or individuals will ask you for it, in order to be certain that if something goes wrong, they won’t be stuck with a large bill.

How to Get a Certificate of Insurance (COI)

If you’re a NEXT Insurance customer, all you need to do is login to your account on our website or mobile app and your Live Certificate delivers you the proof of insurance you need instantly, online, and maybe best of all, for free.

You can easily tell our system to email your Live Certificate to anyone you need, or share a link in an email, a text message or a social media post you send yourself. You can access your Live Certificate and add Additional Insureds whenever you want. There’s no waiting for anyone, no printing anything off, and definitely no fax machines.

Insurance protects your business, and a Live Certificate shows your clients you’re serious, which is good for business.

From personal trainers to general contractors and even Fortune 500 companies, every type of business needs the legal and financial protection of insurance coverage suited to its particular structure, personnel, equipment, and product or service.

For many entrepreneurs, the ability to present an insurance certificate as proof that they carry insurance is critical. The certificate can be almost as important as the coverage itself. In fact, at times it can make the very real difference between being hired or not.

Why is a Certificate of Insurance Important?

Having a Certificate of Insurance shows potential employers or clients that you are insured. That means that in the event of an unforeseen scenario like an injury or property damage, there is minimal risk of out-of-pocket payouts or unpleasant and expensive litigation, for you, or your customer.

The ability to show proof of insurance is so important that it is often requested as a first-step prerequisite before anything else in the employment process. Many employers require showing proof of insurance in the form of an officially generated COI before letting personal trainers train clients, painters paint houses, or handymen so much as pick up a hammer.

Why Insurance Certificates Matter to Your Customers

Customers who want to protect their financial interest and ensure your coverage limits would pay for potential damage will request proof of insurance ahead of signing a work contract with you.

Consider this scenario: a professional custodian working at a local high school accidentally breaks through an important pipe while trying to fix a toilet. A huge mess is the result, with plenty of accompanying cleanup and repair costs. It’s the janitor’s fault, and he can be expected to be held monetarily responsible for the incident.

Luckily for both him and the school, one of the first things he was asked when applying for the job was to show a Certificate of Insurance. If he hadn’t been insured, it would either fall on him to cover the damages entirely out of pocket – which would likely leave him financially flattened, if not ruined – or the school would just have to and pay for it themselves. Making certain that the janitor was insured at the start of their relationship was in the best interests of both the school and the janitor, and both parties walked away from the incident with their bank accounts intact. Insurance kept an accident from turning into a catastrophe, and the Certificate served as a promise that insurance was in place.

With NEXT Insurance, the process of getting a COI is streamlined and free. You have complete flexibility when and where you provide a COI to a prospect or existing customer.

Why Insurance Certificates Matter to Entrepreneurs

Imagine that you’re a yoga teacher. For months, you’ve been trying to get in to teach at an exclusive yoga studio where you live, but there’s never been an opening. One Friday afternoon, you get a call: there’s an opening for a class that day, and they’d like you to fill in for the teacher who’s sick.

There’s just one catch: you have to bring a Certificate of Insurance with you to the studio. In a case like this, the Certificate is the difference between being able to achieve your dreams, or watching them pass you by.

Having instant, online access to your Certificate of Insurance gives you the confidence to go forward and teach that class, with you and the studio knowing you’re covered.

Some businesses also involve risks to personal safety and expensive equipment. For this reason, it’s especially important for business owners such as photographers, construction, or fitness professionals to obtain liability insurance as protection in the event of an unforeseen scenario such as injury, customer dissatisfaction, or equipment breakage or theft. In all cases, having proof of liability insurance available to show in a flash will go a long way in showing your suitability and professionalism for the job.

Additional Insured

Prospective clients or employers also often ask entrepreneurs or business owners to provide a COI with the employer listed as “additional insured”.

That means that the employer’s name and address are listed on the certificate itself. In case something goes wrong, the Additional Insured listed on a Certificate of Insurance can also make a claim against the policy holder’s insurance directly.

For example, let’s say the client of a personal trainer sustains an injury during training on the premises of a particular chain fitness center. The client may opt to sue both the trainer and the gym. When the gym has been added by the trainer as additional insured, the gym will be protected from a lawsuit by the trainer’s insurance policy. If the trainer runs off, the gym can make a claim directly against the trainer’s insurance, as an Additional Insured. For this reason, companies with work with small businesses or freelancers often require being added as Additional Insured.

Valuable Across Industries

The importance of readily available proof of insurance is not specific to one industry. It extends to multiple businesses and industries – photographers, carpenters, fitness trainers, house cleaners, yoga instructors, and more. In any scenario where the potential for liability is involved, be it damages, dissatisfaction with product, injuries, allegations of impropriety, or many others, both the client and the small business benefit from establishing that there is coverage.

What Should I Look For?

Any insurance policy you take out as an entrepreneur should offer instant, easily accessible proof of insurance. The last thing you want is to have to wait for an office to open, wait on hold to speak to an agent, ask for a paper form and then wait two weeks for your request to be processed and for the form to arrive–sometimes at a cost per form.

Unfortunately, the insurance industry has been slow to catch up to this vital need. Most companies leave their customers with no choice but to order their certificates of insurance by phone during standard customer service hours, and often wait weeks for their certificates to arrive – an outrageous demand if you’re a contractor or freelance worker who would need to have proof of insurance immediately accessible during business hours.

There’s also the issue of cost. Legacy insurance companies usually charge anywhere from $7 to $15 per certificate, which can add up quickly and painfully if your line of work involves sending out large numbers of contract bids. There can also be charges levied for each Additional Insured, such as each subcontractor added by a contractor to his or her policy, or each gym where a personal trainer meets with clients.

This all translates into a frustrating bottom line of fees paid, time wasted, and hoops jumped through – and depending on the nature of your work, this headache might also be a continuing and permanent one which could seriously get in between you and your income flow.

Do you have questions about our Live Certificate of Insurance?

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© 2024 Next Insurance, Inc. 975 California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94304, United States
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Issuance of coverage is subject to underwriting. Not available in all states. Please see the policy for full terms, conditions and exclusions. Coverage examples are for illustrative purposes only. Your policy documents govern, terms and exclusions apply. Coverage is dependent on actual facts and circumstances giving rise to a claim. Next Insurance, Inc. and/or its affiliates is an insurance agency licensed to sell certain insurance products and may receive compensation from insurance companies for such sales. Policy obligations are the sole responsibility of the issuing insurance company. Refer to Legal Notices section for additional information.

Any starting prices or premiums represented before an actual customer quote are not guaranteed and are representations of existing premiums of active policies as of December 6, 2023. To the extent permitted by law, applicants are individually underwritten, not all applicants may qualify. Individual rates and savings vary and are subject to change. Discounts and savings are available where state laws and regulations allow, and may vary by state. Certain discounts apply to specific coverages only.