A COI that expired two weeks ago is the same as no COI
Every sub sends one at onboarding. Almost nobody tracks the expiry date, because the date is twelve months away and the job is happening now.
The exposure is yours, not theirs
If a sub is uninsured on your job, the claim comes to you. The certificate is the only proof either way, and an expired one is not proof of anything.
This is why lenders ask for them before releasing a draw: it is their money at risk too.
Why tracking fails
The certificate arrives as a PDF in an email, gets filed in a folder named after the job, and is never looked at again. There is no list anywhere that says which certificates expire this month.
It fails quietly, which is the worst way for compliance to fail.
What the list looks like
Sub name, policy type, carrier, policy number, effective date, expiry date, and the date you last confirmed it. Sorted by expiry, reviewed weekly.
The only number that matters is how many expire in the next 30 days, because those are the ones you can still fix without stopping work.
And the rest of the sub file
The certificate is one document. The same list usually needs the W-9, the licence, the signed subcontract and the waiver status for each payment. Keeping them in one place per sub is what makes a draw package assemble itself.
What a lapse actually costs
If the sub is uninsured when something happens on your job, the claim arrives at you. The certificate is the only document that says who was covered on which date, and an expired one proves the opposite of what you need.
The second cost is slower: lenders hold draws until compliance is in order. A certificate that expired three weeks ago is a payment that does not move, and by the time anyone notices, the sub who needs the money has already called you twice.
So the useful number is not how many certificates you have. It is how many expire in the next thirty days — those are the only ones you can still renew without stopping work. That single line, reviewed weekly, is most of the system.
Free: the COI expiry tracker — take it and use it whether or not you talk to us.
Looking for subcontractor coi tracking spreadsheet? That is the decision this page answers — the documents, the dates and what it costs to stop covering it yourself. One row per sub, and the spreadsheet is the product — take the free version at /tools.
Nothing goes out without your say-so. Money and commitments stop at you by default. We write it up, you make the call.
Questions
Is this the same as a virtual assistant?
No. A virtual assistant holds tasks. This is answerable for the job — the draw, the certificate, the follow-up. That is a different arrangement, and it is why nothing publishes without your approval.
What do you need from me to start?
The open jobs, the current receivables, and whatever certificates you already have on file. Week one is reading those.