The Challenge:
The Revolving Door of COIs
For Property Managers, certificates of insurance (COIs) are a necessary evil faced by anyone who manages a commercial property. Serving as proof of current and sufficient insurance, they protect building owners and tenants against liability from the negligent acts of service providers, subcontractors, tenants, or anyone else involved with a building.
As a risk management tool, they’re crucial, but managing them day to day is an obligatory and time-devouring chore for property management teams. In fact, depending on the size of a building, property management teams can potentially spend 10 percent or more of their time simply collecting COI paperwork, waiting for amendments, and verifying renewals.
Problem
Property management teams can potentially spend 10 percent or more of their time simply collecting COI paperwork, waiting for amendments, and verifying renewals.
Because those property teams aren’t insurance experts, human error can increase the risks of compliance gaps and liability issues.
At the same time, COIs frustrate tenants who want to hire service providers but end up being told that no, that vendor can’t come until we validate its insurance papers.
It’s understandable - a COI contains complex insurance language and can include up to 20 pages of endorsements where a gap in an insurance requirement can often be located in fine text on the 18th page.
“At most buildings, it’s pretty standard that it’s the Property Administrator’s or Tenant Services Coordinator’s responsibility to review the COIs.
This created some personal anxiety because I felt like the responibilities and risks to JLL and the client fell on me, and I wasn’t even an insurance expert.”
Manage COIs Automatically to
Reduce Liability and Save Time
For JLL, a global leader in real estate services, tracking hundreds of COIs for a single large building and thousands across the entire company was not only a huge time sink, but it created unnecessary stress for property teams.
As Jason Smith, Vice President, Operations for JLL’s San Francisco Property Management Team, explained, “For one large building, we may have to manage not only 500 active and expiring COIs but also COIs for 80 tenants, each of whom may want to bring multiple service providers into the building.”
COI paperwork is full of details that need to be confirmed and tracked, including endorsements and waivers, and the certificates often trigger negotiations about insurance levels. Traditionally tracked in simple Excel spreadsheets, COIs and their renewals, which often arrive on paper via regular mail, can stack up, resulting in confusion and delays.
Smith and his JLL colleagues knew there had to be a better way: some sort of digital and automated platform to acquire, manage, audit, and store COIs much more efficiently.
Additionally, over 90% of first time COIs and over 70% of second time COIs collected are not compliant.
The Solution
JLL turned to Jones to see if it could improve compliance rates, save time managing COIs, and make the COI experience simpler for everyone involved. As an insurance compliance software-as-a-service management solution built specifically for real estate, Jones offers services to capture, audit, and monitor insurance requirements for vendors, tenants, and contractors.
“Jones handles the back and forth with vendors and service providers, verifies the COIs as they come in, and tracks their expiration dates.”
Negotiations as well. Now property management teams can simply upload the building’s insurance requirements to Jones, and Jones handles the back and forth with vendors and service providers, verifies the COIs as they come in, and tracks their expiration dates.
Most importantly, Jones automates the auditing process and cuts exposure due to human error. Jones uses artificial intelligence to assist property teams with the insights and decision-support needed to accurately identify gaps in exposure and resolve them with ease.
“As Property Managers, overall, our job is to protect the asset for our owners, and also protect JLL from liability. Having Jones take care of that process, and do it well, takes a lot of stress off of us.”
The Result
Average Time to Value
COIs Audited in 2022
JLL Office
and Retail Assests
Less Time to Obtain
a Compliant COI
“I use it every day”
Said Jon Olson, a JLL Assistant General Manager of a Manhattan building with 31 tenants. the dashboard is laid out simply and literally lights up green to let me see when a COI is approved. “Onboarding new tenants has become easier. “I ask a tenant for a standart COI and send them a link to which they should send it. Jones receives it, verifies it, and sends e-mail approval right away.” Olson added. Property management teams no longer have to read-and understand - insurance fine print. Jones handles it.
“As Property Managers, overall, our job is to protect the asset for our owners, and also protect JLL from liability. Having Jones take care of that process, and do it well, takes a lot of stress off of us.”
By putting the collection, verification, and renewal of COIs on auto-pilot and making it effortless for everyone, JLL has improved its tenant experience while reducing liability and improving property performance.
COIs may always be a nuisance, but now they’re a nuisance that can be managed.
"Jones is transforming the way our teams operate on a daily basis, freeing up valuable time so property managers can focus on operational excellence and an enchaced tenant experience"
Get expert guidance on insurance compliance
Want to automate compliance and de-risk your building with Jones?
Talk to an Expert
Get Compliance Video Course for Free
Learn how to review COIs and other insurance documents
Enroll For Free