Burand’s Agency E&O Blog: Tip #8

Certificates of Insurance. Certificates are probably the most frustrating aspect of processing commercial insurance today. A blog is not the place to detail the entire universe of certificate E&O exposures and thankfully, Bill Wilson has written a great manual available at www.iiaba.org /vu.

A blog is a great opportunity to highlight several important points. First, certificates create a disproportionate amount E&O claims. The reason certificates are the cause of so many claims twofold. First, because they are so frustrating from so many different angles, agencies take shortcuts. I truly wish I could waive a magic wand and eliminate all the minutia and frustration involved, but no one can and short cuts are not the answer either. So make sure of the following (some items are solved by the new forms, but I’ve listed them just in case someone is still taking these shortcuts too):

1. Notify certificate holders when it is the agency’s responsibility to do so.
2. Do not modify or retype certificates on different forms.
3. Apply the same appropriate disclaimers to all certificates.
4. Mail certificates to carriers unless the carrier gives you a hold harmless.
5. Advise clients you’ve only read their contracts for insurance purposes and that you are not offering any legal advice.

The second reason certificates of insurance cause so many E&O claims will be covered in next week’s blog.