Managing contractor risk has become a defining challenge in today’s construction industry. Projects are more complex, timelines are tighter, and compliance requirements are growing stricter by the day. In this climate, the traditional approach to managing risk—a patchwork of emails, spreadsheets, and last-minute follow-ups—is not just inefficient, it’s dangerous.

One of the most important aspects of risk management? Certificates of Insurance (COIs)! While contractors and GCs know they need to collect COIs, the situation is quite serious: most COIs submitted are non-compliant. That means your vendors might be working without valid insurance—and your firm could be on the hook if something goes wrong.

In this guide, we make the case that COI automation is not just a compliance convenience—it’s a core component of modern contractor risk management. We’ll explore how COI tools work, why they matter more than ever, and what to look for in a solution that actually reduces your risk exposure.

The Growing Complexity of Contractor Risk in Construction

Contractor risk in construction has never been more complex or consequential. Today’s construction projects often involve a web of subcontractors, specialized trades, vendors, and suppliers. On a large commercial development, it’s not unusual to have dozens, even hundreds, of subcontractors on site, each performing specialized work and each required to carry specific insurance coverage. Managing the risks across such a vast team is a tall order.

Moreover, as projects grow in size and complexity, the potential liabilities grow as well. Claims and litigation are on the rise, and high-value claims are driving up the cost of insuring construction. New regulatory requirements and owner contract terms demand stricter insurance compliance from contractors. At the same time, a challenging labor market means many projects are understaffed or staffed with less experienced workers, which increases safety risks and the chance of insurance claims. In short, contractors and project owners are being forced to “do more with less” in a risk environment that is unforgiving.

The total cost of risk (TCOR) for construction businesses is climbing, making risk management a board-level concern. Every incident, lapse in coverage, or uninsured loss can hit the bottom line hard. That’s why forward-thinking firms are investing in technology and processes to get ahead of these risks. Contractor risk management software has emerged to help unify various risk controls, from safety management and compliance tracking to insurance verification. And within this toolkit, COI management deserves special attention because it is directly tied to financial protection: if a subcontractor’s insurance isn’t adequate or current, the general contractor or owner might end up financially liable for accidents or claims involving that subcontractor.

COI Tracking: The Hidden Blind Spot in Risk Management

While most construction and real estate companies have protocols for safety and quality control, COI tracking often remains a manual, error-prone chore handled by project admins or accounting staff. It’s easy to see why this is a blind spot. Managing COIs typically involves chasing down contractors for paperwork, deciphering complex insurance forms, and updating spreadsheets or file folders. Busy teams may treat it as a checkbox exercise, collect the certificate and move on, without thoroughly reviewing what’s in each COI. This can create a false sense of security.

If a subcontractor provides a COI that doesn’t actually meet the contract’s requirements (e.g. lower liability limits, missing endorsements, or an expired policy), the risk transfer you thought you had may not exist. Unfortunately, such scenarios are all too common. Industry data suggests error and non-compliance rates in COIs are alarmingly high, as noted earlier (70–90% initially non-compliant). Some certificates even turn out to be fraudulent or misrepresented.

For example, a contractor might send a COI that appears to list the hiring company as an additional insured, but upon closer inspection of the actual policy endorsement, that status isn’t properly conferred. Or the COI might show general liability coverage, but exclude important things like completed operations coverage, a gap that could leave the general contractor on the hook for claims down the road. Because COIs are often accepted at face value, these gaps remain hidden until an incident uncovers them (at which point it’s too late). 

All of this underscores that COI tracking isn’t just paperwork, it’s a critical risk function. Not having proper COI oversight is like driving blindfolded: you won’t see the risk coming until it hits. For construction and real estate firms, uninsured or underinsured contractors can lead to massive liability, project delays, and even defaulted contracts or lawsuits. This blind spot has cost companies dearly in the past, which is why shining a light on it it is so important.

The good news is that new software tools are purpose-built to shine a light on COI compliance and keep it continuously under control. By automating the tracking and verification of insurance certificates, these tools ensure that no expired policy or missing coverage slips through the cracks. They turn COI management from a reactive, error-prone task into a proactive system that protects your projects and assets.

What COI Automation Software Does for Construction Risk Management (And Why It Matters)

A modern COI tracking software tool is essentially an insurance compliance watchdog: it automates the process of collecting, validating, and monitoring COIs so that you can be confident every subcontractor and vendor on your project is properly insured.

These platforms typically operate as cloud-based services integrated with your vendor or project databases.

Here’s how they work and why they’re so valuable:

Imagine if instead of sending emails and spreadsheets to track insurance, you had an intelligent system that handled it for you. Instead of waiting for someone to forget a renewal and cause a work stoppage, the system acts in real time to keep your compliance airtight.

COI automation tools eliminates the manual grunt work of tracking insurance certificates and replaces it with a proactive, rules-based system that:

  • Collects COIs when vendors are onboarded
  • Verifies that insurance policies meet your exact requirements
  • Flags missing endorsements, exclusions, or insufficient coverage
  • Tracks expiration dates and renewal deadlines
  • Notifies contractors and your team before issues arise
  • Maintains a central, searchable database of all COIs and policies

Platforms like Jones go a step further by performing policy-level verification—checking not just the COI but the actual policy and     endorsements to ensure you are listed as an Additional Insured,   Waivers of Subrogation are in place, and exclusions don’t nullify your coverage.

Want to see how Jones stacks up against other COI tracking tools?
Check out our comparison guide to the top COI tracking software

Buyers Guide: Top Contractor Risk Management Software Has These Features

When choosing a COI automation platform as part of your risk management strategy, here’s what to look for:

1. Automated COI Collection and Renewal Tracking

The system should trigger COI requests when new sub-contractors or vendors are onboarded and send renewal reminders without manual input. Look for tools that use branded communications and portals that simplify the process for subcontractors.

2. Custom Insurance Requirement Templates

You should be able to define templates by vendor type (e.g., roofer vs. electrician), project size, or contract type. This ensures COIs are evaluated against the correct criteria and streamlines communication.

3. Policy-Level Review and Endorsement Validation

It’s not enough to collect a COI. Your platform should review policy endorsements to confirm:

  • Additional Insured status
  • Waiver of Subrogation
  • Primary & Non-Contributory clauses
  • No exclusions that contradict your scope of work

Some tools even offer in-house verification by insurance experts to ensure nothing is missed.

4. Real-Time Dashboards for Risk Visibility

Dashboards should provide at-a-glance views of compliance status across all contractors and projects. This includes:

  • Which vendors are compliant
  • Who has expired coverage
  • Who is coming due for renewal

Color-coded or filterable dashboards improve decision-making and allow GCs and PMs to act proactively.

5. Searchable Document Repository

Every COI and endorsement should be archived in a cloud-based repository that’s searchable by vendor, policy type, date, or compliance status. This makes audits and claims processing fast and painless.

6. Audit Trail and Version Control

Top-tier tools provide a full compliance history: when a COI was submitted, who reviewed it, what issues were flagged, and when they were resolved. This is crucial for defending against claims or meeting owner and lender requirements.

7. Integrations with Procore, CMiC, ERP, and Accounting Systems

To avoid duplicating effort, your COI platform should plug directly into your existing tech stack. When a vendor is added in Procore, for example, you should be able to initiate a COI request from within the Procore UI.

8. Automated Alerts and Notifications

You should be able to configure alerts for expiring COIs, non-compliant vendors, or missing documentation. Notifications should go to both your internal team and the contractor.

9. Vendor-Friendly Experience

The platform should make it easy for vendors to upload their COIs, understand your requirements, and fix issues. A frustrating vendor experience leads to delays and compliance drop-off.

10. Built-In Analytics and Reporting

Look for tools that track:

  • Portfolio-wide compliance rates
  • Average time to resolution
  • Most common compliance failures

These insights help you refine your contractor onboarding process and improve project readiness.

11. Insurance Expertise On-Demand

Some platforms, like Jones, back their automated reviews with real insurance professionals. These experts help interpret policies and can even liaise with brokers on your behalf. In some cases, the platform assumes liability for errors—offering an extra layer of assurance.

Real-World Impact: Construction Risk Management with COI Automation Software Tools

It’s helpful to see how COI automation and risk management software make a difference in practice.

Construction Risk Management: Safer Projects with Fewer Delays

Imagine a general contractor (GC) managing a multi-phase commercial construction project. There are 65 subcontractors involved over a 14-month schedule, from excavation crews and steelworkers to electricians and painters. In the past, the GC’s project coordinator would spend countless hours chasing each subcontractor for their COIs, updating a master spreadsheet, and sending reminder emails when insurance was due to expire. Despite best efforts, things slipped through the cracks, a roofer’s policy lapsed unnoticed, an electrician provided a COI lacking a required endorsement, etc. These issues sometimes caused work stoppages and plenty of last-minute scrambles.

Now consider the same project after implementing a dedicated COI tracking platform. From day one, every subcontractor is funneled through an automated insurance compliance process. As soon as a sub is awarded a contract, the system sends them a tailored insurance request outlining exactly what coverage they need to have. Subs upload their COIs through a simple portal. The platform verifies each certificate within hours, flagging any that don’t meet the requirements. The GC’s team sees a dashboard showing all 65 subs and their compliance status in real time. Throughout the project, when policies come up for renewal, automatic alerts prompt vendors to submit updated COIs, and the system keeps everyone accountable.

The results for this GC are dramatic. The project coordinator went from spending hours a week on COIs to only minutes reviewing automated reports. They achieved faster vendor onboarding, since insurance checks no longer bottleneck the start of work. At any given time, the GC knows with certainty that no uninsured or underinsured vendors are on the job site, the software won’t “clear” a vendor who isn’t compliant. This reduces the GC’s liability exposure significantly. Compliance gaps that used to trigger delays (like discovering an expired policy right before an inspection) are now prevented, thanks to proactive notifications and a real-time compliance dashboard. In short, the project runs smoother with fewer unexpected holdups related to insurance.

One construction firm reported that after adopting COI automation, they had “zero uninsured vendors” slipping through and far fewer project delays related to insurance compliance. Importantly, if an incident does occur, the GC can quickly produce documentation to show that all parties were properly insured (or take swift action if someone’s insurance wasn’t up to par). This digital paper trail can be critical for claims processing or legal defense, potentially saving the firm from costly litigation or settlements.

In essence, in the construction world, COI tracking software acts like a dedicated risk safety net, catching problems before they impact your business. The peace of mind it provides to general contractors and project owners is hard to overstate. They can focus on building, knowing that an automated system is continuously guarding against that nightmare scenario of an uncovered loss.

Closing the Risk Gap

COI tracking is no longer an admin task. It’s a cornerstone of risk management. In 2025, the best contractor risk management software tools are the ones that make COI automation effortless, verifiable, and proactive.

If you’re ready to eliminate the paperwork, plug your compliance gaps, and protect every job site from uninsured risk—it’s time to move your COI process into the future.

Book a demo with Jones and experience the new standard in contractor risk management.