What Is a Certificate of Insurance, and Why Does Every Event Want One?

Apply to vend at a festival, market or fair and you will be asked for a certificate of insurance. For a new vendor the request usually lands as a puzzle: what is it, and where do you get one?

What it is

A certificate of insurance, often shortened to COI, is a one-page document summarizing cover that is already in force. It shows:

• Your name and business details
• The insurance company providing the cover
• The type of cover, normally general liability for food vendors
• Your limits, per claim and per year
• The policy's effective dates
• Any additional insureds on the policy

The certificate is not the policy. It is evidence that a policy exists, the way the card in your glovebox proves your car is insured without being the contract itself.

What it cannot do

A certificate cannot give anybody rights the policy does not already grant. It cannot extend cover, change limits, or add a party who was never endorsed on. This is also why no one can issue you one before you buy — there is nothing to certify until a policy exists.

Why organizers want it

Organizers, market managers and landlords are managing their own exposure. If someone is hurt at your stall, they want a policy in front of yours that is not theirs. Many are also required by their own lease, permit or municipal agreement to collect certificates from every vendor on site.

Getting one without delay

Almost every hold-up comes from missing details. Have the organizer's exact legal name and full address, the limits their agreement demands, whether they need additional insured status, any specific wording they require, and your event dates.

Vendors working a circuit need a separate certificate for each venue, since each wants its own name on the page. Keep the legal names and addresses in one file and the job stops being a scramble.