How to get a Certificate of Liability Insurance for your small business
First-time insurance buyers will sometimes ask, “What’s a COI?” A Certificate of Insurance (sometimes called a Certificate of Liability Insurance) is a physical or electronic document that proves you have insurance. The COI includes important details about your policy that you, a client, a landlord or someone else might require.
Having fast access to COIs for insurance policies is a great benefit of doing business with an insurance company online. At biBerk, we want to make it easy for owners and decision-makers to get coverage and prove the company has it when asked so they can stay focused on their business goals.
When would I need a Certificate of Insurance?
You might need a Certificate of Insurance for your business for a couple of reasons:
Of course, it’s also just a good idea to have a copy of your Certificate of Insurance for your records.
How to get a COI
After you buy your policy, you’ll want a Certificate of Insurance to confirm your coverage. Ideally, your insurance company should enable you to get your COI online. At biBerk, we provide that online capability so you can handle requests from clients or your landlord wherever and whenever it’s convenient for you.
All you have to do is:
- Visit https://www.biberk.com/certificate-of-insurance and click Get a Certificate.
- Enter your policy number and phone number and click Continue.
- Enter your name, business address, and email address and click Get Certificate.
Your COI will be emailed to you!
Whether you want proof of insurance for your records or for a landlord, client, or other third party like a subcontractor, getting a COI from biBerk is easy.
Adding a client to your Certificate of Liability Insurance
It’s common for clients to ask to be added as what’s called an additional insured to the Certificate of Liability Insurance of companies they do business with. When you add them, they’re listed on the COI and have the right to make a claim against the policy. The policy will also respond to claims against them regarding your work or operations.
Contact us if you need our insurance experts to help you make this type of addition to the COI for your insurance policy.
What does a Certificate of Insurance cost?
At biBerk, you can get a Certificate of Insurance at any time, free of charge. It’s the least we can do for our valued customers. And fast access to a COI can be helpful when you’re trying to win new business and are up against a deadline. There may be a small fee for adding an additional insured to the COI.
Who relies on biBerk for business insurance?
We frequently work with new business owners, educating them about insurance through helpful online resources and conversations with our licensed insurance experts when they have questions. That includes information on what different policies cover, insurance requirements and compliance issues, how to get a Certificate of Liability Insurance, and more. We also explain how we keep our prices as much as 20% lower than other providers—by offering coverage directly to owners rather than through brokers or other intermediaries.
We’re also trusted by established business owners. They tend to appreciate how easy it is to renew coverage and the fact that we’re happy to do coverage reviews with them to prevent coverage gaps. We also remind them that maintaining insurance coverage and having current COIs handy helps them build trust with their clients or customers.
Corporate risk managers also find us to be helpful and accessible. They typically look at things from a legal point of view, and while you don’t need a physical COI to be covered, they still prefer to have them for each policy. Risk managers tend to see a comprehensive insurance portfolio not as an expense but instead as a valuable asset, and we couldn’t agree more!
Get covered, obtain your COIs, and enjoy tremendous peace of mind.
Businesses in every industry face risk. Owners and decision-makers understand that, which is why they make it a top priority to maintain adequate insurance coverage. They also know that when they purchase from biBerk, the entire process is designed to save them time and effort.
They can get policy quotes online whenever it’s convenient. Then, when they're ready to buy policies, they can also do that online, with coverage active the next day in most cases.
So, busy owners can ensure they have the financial protection their business needs at all times and the backing of a business insurance company that’s focused on helping them succeed.