Use this checklist each time you hire a subcontractor. It helps you collect the right proof of insurance before work starts and keep it current through the job and your audits.

It goes with our guide to contract insurance requirements, which explains each term.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Print this checklist (PDF)

Before the sub starts work

  • Get a current certificate of insurance for each policy your subcontract requires: general liability, commercial auto, workers’ comp and umbrella if required.
  • Check that the named insured matches the legal name on your subcontract.
  • Check that the policy dates cover the whole job. Write down each expiration date.
  • Check each limit against your subcontract, including any per project aggregate and umbrella limits.
  • Check the additional insured wording for both ongoing and completed operations. Ask for copies of the endorsements, not just the certificate.
  • If your subcontract requires it, check for primary and noncontributory wording.
  • If your subcontract requires it, check for waiver of subrogation on each policy it names.
  • Check that the certificate holder is your company, with the right name and address.
  • Check that the description of operations fits the work the sub will do.

Workers’ comp or exemption

  • Get a workers’ comp certificate, or a copy of the Florida exemption for each exempt officer who will be on your job.
  • Remember that an exemption covers only the officer named on it. Anyone else the sub sends needs workers’ comp.
  • Look up the sub on the Division of Workers’ Compensation Proof of Coverage search and, for exempt officers, the Exemption search.
  • Print or keep a copy of what you find, with the date, in your job file.

During the job

  • Keep a list of each sub’s expiration dates.
  • Ask for a renewal certificate before a policy expires.
  • Check the state coverage search again on long jobs, or if the sub’s crew changes.
  • Don’t let a sub start, or come back, without current proof.

At your audit

  • Keep certificates and exemption printouts by sub and by policy year.
  • Have them ready for your workers’ comp and general liability audits. Payments to subs without proof of coverage are often charged on your policy.
  • If you’re a client, ask us to look at anything that doesn’t match your subcontract. Some gaps can be fixed with an endorsement on the sub’s policy, which the sub’s own agent would add.

A certificate of insurance is a summary. It doesn’t change or add coverage. The sub’s policy and its endorsements decide what’s covered.

Sources

This checklist is general educational information, not legal advice. It doesn’t list every step for every business. Coverage depends on each policy’s terms, conditions and endorsements.

Questions? A licensed member of our team can talk it through with you. McGriff-Williams Insurance is an independent insurance agency in Gainesville, in business since 1983 and licensed in Florida. We’re at 3501 W University Ave, Gainesville, FL 32607. Call (352) 371-7977, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where confidence grows.

Last updated October 31, 2026