COI Verification Best Practices: Automating Risk and Compliance

Why COI Verification Is More Than a Checklist

It’s easy to treat COI collection as a routine administrative step: gather the document, check expiration dates, and file it away. But contractual insurance requirements aren’t standardized—they’re precise, detailed, and often buried in endorsement language the COI doesn’t reflect.

Imagine a project requiring $5M in General Liability coverage with Additional Insured status and a Waiver of Subrogation. A vendor submits a COI showing $1M in coverage and makes no reference to required endorsements. Without a structured review process, this could be marked “complete,” simply because the form looks familiar.

This disconnect happens more than it should. A Jones audit in 2023 found that nearly half of submitted COIs lacked one or more key compliance elements—usually endorsements. Many of these were still being approved.

Jones solves this problem by centralizing COI intake and verification into a consistent digital workflow. Smart portals enforce naming conventions, policy type fields, and project-linked submission—all of which reduce the odds of misfiled or incomplete documents making it into your system.

What’s needed isn’t just a COI on file—it’s proof that the vendor met every documented requirement. That’s the standard contracts are written to, and the one project teams are expected to uphold.

The Hidden Costs of Manual COI Verification

Even the most organized team can’t keep pace with manual COI review at scale. Spreadsheets get stale. Folders become fragmented. Vendor emails get missed. And over time, the logic of what was accepted—and why—is lost.

In one regional construction firm, the compliance team approved a vendor based on a COI that had all the right terms—except the named insured didn’t match the contractor’s legal entity. Months later, that mismatch triggered a dispute over whether the subcontractor was actually covered.

This wasn’t an issue of risk transfer. It was an issue of compliance documentation failing to reflect contract terms.

Jones eliminates these breakdowns by replacing email-based submission with a fully auditable chain of custody. Every COI is logged with timestamps, versioning, and structured metadata—ensuring that no COI approval occurs without validation, and every decision is reviewable.

What Effective COI Verification Requires

True COI verification starts with a clear connection between what the contract requires and what’s submitted. It demands:

• Careful confirmation that coverage types match (GL, Auto, Umbrella, WC)
• Validation that policy limits meet stated thresholds
• Accurate named insured review
• Endorsement validation—especially for Additional Insured and Waivers
• Date matching for project duration

These are not “nice to haves.” These are foundational for proving you’ve enforced your own compliance requirements.

Jones simplifies this alignment with contract-based rule engines that automatically compare submitted COIs to your insurance language. For example, if a project requires CG 20 10 and CG 20 37 endorsements, Jones can flag missing documentation or trigger a conditional rejection.

Turning Verification into a System, Not a Fire Drill

The way to avoid these errors isn’t more training or longer checklists—it’s by embedding the verification process into a repeatable, consistent system.

At Jones, COI verification is treated as a compliance operation—not a document collection task. Every submission flows through a structured intake portal, mapped to a project and vendor. Automated checks review coverage, endorsements, and policy details. Human auditors validate nuanced language and approve or reject based on your predefined standards.

This hybrid approach—technology for consistency, humans for nuance—means teams stop chasing down paperwork and start building a defensible compliance trail with every submission.

Jones’ framework includes:

• Smart Portals: Vendors upload COIs through structured interfaces mapped to your requirements.
• Automated Checks: Expiration dates, coverage types, and name mismatches flagged in real time.
• Human Review: Trained compliance auditors check for required endorsements, waiver clauses, and policy gaps.
• Audit Logs: Every decision—approval, rejection, escalation—is recorded with timestamps.

Jones also integrates with platforms like Procore, MRI Software, and CMiC—so your project teams see compliance status where they already work.

What Happens When You Systematize COI Compliance

One national GC reduced COI approval times from five days to under 24 hours without increasing staff. The change wasn’t just speed—it was structure. Vendor requirements were standardized. Review logic was enforced. Audit readiness improved.

Rather than reacting to missing documents or chasing endorsements, teams focused on enforcing standards, with Jones acting as the backbone of the process.

Real-time dashboards let compliance and operations leads see vendor status by project, division, or portfolio—making it easier to catch gaps before they become blockers.

This isn’t about transferring risk. It’s about documenting compliance consistently, visibly, and at scale.

COI Verification Isn’t Risk Management—It’s Contract Enforcement

Every COI you collect should confirm that a vendor meets the insurance terms you agreed to. If it doesn’t, you’re not in compliance.

Jones helps you operationalize that standard—automating intake, enforcing rules, validating coverage, and logging the approvals that prove you’ve done your job.

And when auditors come calling—or when a contract is challenged—you’ll have centralized, timestamped proof that every vendor met every obligation.

When compliance is systematized, the entire project benefits. Work moves faster. Fewer issues escalate. And documentation is ready when anyone asks.

See how Jones can help your team scale COI compliance with confidence. Talk to Jones

Tired of Reviewing COIs and Endorsements Manually?

Jones automates the collection and review of COIs for property management companies, owner-operators, and general contractors across the US. Reach out to us via the form below to find out more about how Jones can help your organization manage your insurance documents.