CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE REQUESTS

A certificate of insurance is a form listing the insurance coverages carried by a particular company. It is issued by an insurance broker/agency and contains the broker’s authorized signature. It certifies that the insurance policies listed on the sheet are actually carried by that company and saves the time, expense and volume of sending out complete copies of each policy.

Boston University is often required to send out a certificate of insurance in order to verify some aspect of the University’s insurance program. All requests must flow through this office, allowing us to review the request and notify the University’s insurance broker, if appropriate, to issue the certificate. The University’s insurance broker will not issue a certificate of insurance unless authorized by the Office of Risk Management.

BASICS OF REQUESTING A CERTIFICATE

• Notice. Give us as much lead time as possible. Don’t wait until the last day it is due. We may be unavailable or our broker may be tied up, or the first certificate issued may need revisions and may have to be reissued, causing further delay and possibly holding up operations from your end.
• Requests must be in writing, due to insurance carrier requirements.
• Be specific on what needs to be shown on the certificate. Just requesting a “certificate of insurance” doesn’t provide us with enough information. For example, we need to know the type of insurance (liability, property, workers compensation, auto, etc) that needs to be shown, the required limits, if any entity is being named as additional insured (to be avoided whenever possible), if notice of cancellation needs to be shown, etc. In most instances the party requesting the certificate has written specifications for insurance requirements. Include a copy of that section of the contract or agreement with your request, so that there will be no questions.
• Any requests for evidence of Student Professional Liability must be accompanied by a written confirmation on department letterhead that the particular student is participating in a curriculum required activity that has been reviewed and authorized by Boston University.
• Where should the certificate be sent? If it is being sent directly to the third party that has requested it, then include a contact name and address to receive the certificate. Include a fax number if a faxed copy will be acceptable. Some departments want the certificate to be sent directly to them, so that they can include the certificate in a packet of related material that they are sending out to the third party. Either way, make it clear to us in your request.