The Importance of COIs in the Construction Industry
The construction industry benefits from carefully-constructed and detailed COIs (Certificates of Insurance) no matter the project. In its name, this type of certificate lists the range of insurances assigned to your project as well as its coverages and liabilities. It also includes the named insured, the issuing company name, dates for policy coverage, and the limits and various coverages included in the COI.
Disputing cases surrounding liabilities
When your construction project involves a Certificate of Insurance, you create a sense of trust between your company, the client, and the investors. This is a surefire way to declare that your company is protected by business insurance and confirm compliance of what is required. These requirements usually include those that coincide with substandard work, damages, or minor to major injuries. Disputes are common especially in the construction industry as lives are easily at stake, from the building process through its maintenance, too often these disputes do not end well. Affected parties may require legal assistance to sort out matters such as issues with safety, labor, or even general health.
Keeping compliance on check
Complying with the insurance coverages can help companies achieve a safer and more professional environment for any project they might accept. This helps guarantee projects to flow smoothly without the need to worry about having insurance to back up any emergencies or complications that may alter the status of the project. Another reason for COI’s is the need for insurers to have a proof for when legal matters arise. They need COI’s in order to prove insurance coverage or even to defend its limits. Errors in COI’s are not surprising. They commonly occur within companies that have numerous documents to file and check. This is a large reason the use of an automated system needs consideration. These forefront systems called a COI Tracker, allows for the scanning, reading, capturing, and organizing of COIs, making sure the data gathered is accurate and up-to-date. This way, no COI is left unverified, undocumented, expired, or lacking requirements.
Adding a layer of protection in the business
Every business must have priorities set in place when it comes to protection, whether it’s from physical, financial, legal, or even digital threats. Monitoring the risk of loss as well as the need for managing the requirements needed for every COI. Because powerful systems can be established to, scan and check the COI’s more thoroughly, companies are given the upper hand at safeguarding their insured assets. Persons involved in any project benefit from the reporting functions as they may provide real-time verification to make sure that each COI is compliant. This also helps protect subcontractors in the second-tier or third-tier because of the straightforward tracking and verification process. This process can resolve everything from trouble with the requirements to the immediate need for renewal or notices for expiration.
Centralizing COI’s for ease in access and documentation
It is not surprising to find hundreds, if not thousands of certificates of insurance stored in any busy construction company’s library or file storage. It is more likely that the company does not have an effective system to track them all. Some companies depend on specific members of the team to keep track of insurance certificates. A major problem is it is uncertain how long this person will stay within the company. Tragically, when that member does leave, the task of maintaining the COI tracking is assigned to either someone new to the company or someone who is not entirely familiar with the required involvement or the task in general. This situation makes it difficult for companies to dispute liabilities should claims arise due to issues with coverage or audits. To make sure human error does not interfere with the processes surrounding COIs, a cloud-based system for tracking and storing them must be set in place. This system will not only keep records of COIs for you, but can help with managing renewals, lapses, and other types of requests as well anytime and anywhere there’s an internet connection available.
By entrusting your construction-related COI’s to a state-of-the-art COI tracker; your efforts towards compliance are doubled, maybe even tripled! It is always a good idea to automate repetitive and high-risk tasks that are critical and can become a predicament once human error gets in the picture. With an automated COI tracking system, you can continually guarantee that your business or project is compliant 7 x 24 x 365 all year round. Curious for more? Visit our blog to find out how COI Tracker can assist you today!