Mastering COI Renewals: Best Practices and Lessons from Bogard Construction

Key Insights from the Mastering COI Renewals Webinar

Skip directly to the webinar recording.

Here are some of the most valuable lessons shared by Sarah Michels, Contracts Manager at Bogard Construction, during our conversation on COI renewals:

• Renewals aren’t just date checks — Policy terms often change at renewal (e.g., switching from “any auto” to “scheduled autos only”), and it’s easy to miss if you’re only verifying expiration dates.

• Coverage gaps can go unnoticed, even with strong internal processes — Sarah’s team discovered issues that had slipped through despite detailed manual reviews, prompting them to revise indemnity language in their subcontractor agreements.

• A dedicated COI inbox can dramatically reduce friction — Consolidating document intake through a single email (like coi@bogardconstruction.com) helped streamline their entire workflow.

• Clear internal ownership is critical — Knowing exactly who is responsible for collection, auditing, and escalation made it easier for Bogard to stay on top of compliance across hundreds of subs.

• The ROI of automation is measurable — By automating outreach, auditing, and system updates through Jones, Bogard saved nearly 2,000 hours a year and avoided hiring 2.5 additional team members.

• Even teams not using a platform can improve — Sarah emphasized that any company can strengthen its renewal process by reviewing internal policies, tightening communication, and following a defined framework.

Watch the “Mastering COI Renewals” webinar recording:

Learn how Bogard’s team uncovered hidden policy changes, rewrote their indemnity agreements, and saved 2,000+ hours a year.

Step-by-Step: The COI Renewal Checklist

Here’s the exact checklist shared in the webinar that Sarah recommends using, even if you’re not a Jones customer:

✅ Step 1: Establish a Source of Truth

Choose one system to house all COI data and expiration dates—no more cross-referencing Excel, accounting systems, and project platforms.

✅ Step 2: Centralize Communication

Create a single, dedicated email inbox for all incoming COIs (e.g., coi@yourcompany.com) and communicate that address to brokers and vendors.

✅ Step 3: Automate the Renewal Timeline

Set 45-, 30-, and 15-day reminders and define what escalation looks like if there’s no response.

✅ Step 4: Review Policy Terms (Not Just Expiration Dates)

Always check the details. Did the vendor switch from “any auto” to “scheduled auto only”? Is the liability “per occurrence” or “aggregate”?

✅ Step 5: Revisit Your Indemnity Language

Work with legal to adjust contract language based on what’s realistic and enforceable during renewal season.

✅ Step 6: Assign Ownership Internally

Decide who owns the collection, who owns the review, and what happens when documents are incomplete or incorrect.

Webinar Recap:

Prior to using Jones, Sarah’s team at Bogard Construction was juggling COIs across multiple platforms: Excel, AP, and their project management system.

“We used to double—actually triple—enter information. Trying to handle the volume that we had—hundreds of subs annually—it’s just a lot.”

Even with detailed processes and an insurance-savvy team, important details were still missed. At one point, the team discovered that some subcontractors had quietly changed carriers or switched to more limited coverage without flagging it.

This triggered a legal review and a rewrite of their indemnity clauses. From that point forward, scheduled autos were only allowed if the subcontractor contractually agreed to use only those listed vehicles on-site.

As part of their process transformation, Bogard implemented the checklist shared above, and then partnered with Jones to automate the execution.

One of the simplest—but most impactful—changes was setting up a dedicated inbox for all COIs:

“We have one email address now: coi@bogardconstruction.com. It took a few months to streamline that, but now our inboxes aren’t getting cluttered with COIs—they go directly to Jones.”

COIs were automatically routed, reviewed, and synced into the systems the team already used—Procore and Sage 300—without duplicate entry.

With Jones managing the outreach, triaging, and auditing, Sarah’s team gained back nearly 2,000 hours of staff time annually. That was enough to avoid hiring 2.5 full-time team members.

“We’ve been able to do it with what we have because of things like Jones. That gave us back almost 2,000 hours a year.”

Instead of COIs being a constant bottleneck, the renewal process became a background operation—visible when needed, invisible when running well.

Final Thoughts: Even Without a Platform, Get Your Process in Order

Sarah emphasized that even if your team isn’t using a dedicated COI management solution, you can still improve by tightening up your internal process.

Review your policies. Centralize your communication. Revisit your audit flow. And most importantly—don’t assume a renewal means nothing changed.

“Sometimes a renewal is not just a renewal. Coverage changes, and it’s easy to miss.”

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.