How do we read a vendor's certificate of insurance (ACORD 25) before work starts?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised September 23, 2026

How an HOA board reads a vendor's ACORD 25 certificate of insurance: limits, additional insured endorsements, workers' comp, expiration tracking, and its limits.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

What a certificate proves and what it does not

A certificate of insurance is a one-page summary of a vendor's policies, issued by the vendor's insurance agent or insurer. The most common form for liability coverage is the ACORD 25. It tells you that certain policies existed on the date it was issued, with certain limits. It does not change the policies. The form itself carries a disclaimer saying it does not amend, extend, or alter the coverage the policies provide. The Texas Department of Insurance, which regulates certificate forms under Texas Insurance Code Chapter 1811, puts it the same way: a certificate cannot add coverage the policy does not already provide, and a certificate holder who needs to confirm a specific coverage detail can ask for a copy of the policy or the endorsement. Treat the certificate as a starting point for a few questions, not as proof that every claim is covered.

Ask for it the right way

Request the certificate from the vendor's insurance agent, not from the vendor's office manager, and ask the agent to send it directly to the association. A certificate emailed as a PDF by the vendor can be old, edited, or issued for a different customer. The request should list the association's exact legal name and mailing address for the certificate holder box, the coverage and limits your contract requires, and a request to add the association as an additional insured on the general liability policy. If the contract requires a waiver of subrogation, include that as well. Ask for the certificate before the vendor starts work and again each time a policy renews.

Read the ACORD 25 from top to bottom

Start with the date in the top corner. Then read the producer box, which is the agent or broker who issued the certificate, and the insured box, which should match the name on the contract exactly. A different legal name, such as an owner's personal name or a sister company, means the policy may not cover the business you hired. The insurers box lists each insurance company by letter. The coverages table matches each policy to an insurer letter and shows the policy number, the effective and expiration dates, and the limits. Check that the dates cover the full period of the work. At the bottom, the description of operations box may mention your association or project, and the certificate holder box should show the association's name and address. The cancellation box says notice will be delivered according to the policy provisions, which does not promise that anyone will tell the association if the policy is cancelled.

Check the limits against your contract

For commercial general liability, the form shows several limits: each occurrence, damage to rented premises, medical expense, personal and advertising injury, general aggregate, and products and completed operations aggregate. The per-occurrence and aggregate limits matter most. If your contract requires $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, the certificate should show at least those numbers. Note whether the policy is occurrence or claims-made; a claims-made policy only responds if it is still in force when the claim is made, which matters for roofers and other trades whose mistakes show up later. For automobile liability, look for a combined single limit and check whether it covers any auto or only listed vehicles. An umbrella or excess policy can add limits on top, but only if it lists the underlying policies it sits over. If a limit is short, ask the vendor to raise it or add umbrella coverage before work begins.

Additional insured and waiver of subrogation need endorsements

The ACORD 25 has columns marked ADDL INSD and SUBR WVD next to each policy. A check mark there tells you the agent says an endorsement exists. The endorsement is what actually adds the association as an additional insured or waives the insurer's right to recover from the association. The ACORD 25 includes a notice that a certificate does not confer rights in lieu of an endorsement. The Texas Department of Insurance tells agents to check those boxes only when the policy includes a matching endorsement. Being listed as certificate holder alone gives the association nothing under the policy. For a large project or a high-risk trade, ask for a copy of the additional insured endorsement itself and read which work it covers, such as ongoing operations only or completed operations too.

Workers' compensation and the sole-proprietor problem

The workers' compensation section shows statutory coverage for the state and employer's liability limits for each accident, disease per employee, and disease policy limit. Check that the state where your community sits is covered. Pay attention to small vendors. In many states, a sole proprietor or company officer can be exempt from carrying workers' compensation, or can exclude themselves from coverage. If that person hires a helper who gets hurt on association property, the injured worker may look to the association or its insurer. Ask any vendor without workers' compensation to explain in writing why they are exempt under your state's rules, and whether anyone else will work on site. The association's own insurance agent can tell you what your policies expect. Whether the association itself needs a workers' compensation policy is covered in a separate guide.

Track expiration dates and follow up

Keep a simple log with one row per vendor: the vendor name, each policy type, the insurer, the policy number, the limits, the expiration date, whether the endorsement is on file, and the date you received the certificate. Sort it by expiration date and review it at every board meeting or once a month. Thirty days before a policy expires, ask the agent for the renewal certificate. If a renewal does not arrive by the expiration date, tell the vendor in writing that work stops until it does, and follow through. Keep old certificates with the project file. If a claim arises two years after a job ends, the certificate that was valid during the work is the one you will need.

When to ask for more than a certificate

A certificate is fine for routine vendors like a window cleaner or a pest control company. Ask for more on roofing, tree work, electrical, structural repair, pool service, snow removal, and any job with lifts or heavy equipment. More means a copy of the additional insured endorsement, a copy of the waiver of subrogation endorsement if your contract requires one, and a call to the issuing agent to confirm the policy is active. Ask the association's own insurance agent to review the requirements in your vendor contracts once a year. The agent knows what your master policy excludes and can tell you where a vendor's coverage needs to fill the gap.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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