Part 5 of 8
Certificates of insurance are everywhere in liability claims. They are easy to obtain. They look official. They are often treated as proof that coverage exists.
They are none of those things.
Under the AVOID Act, reliance on certificates of insurance under the AVOID Act creates risk faster than ever. What once felt like a shortcut now becomes a liability.
Why Certificates Became a Crutch
Certificates are convenient. They summarize policy numbers, limits, and dates. They often list Additional Insureds. They arrive early and satisfy the urge to check a box.
In busy claim environments, certificates became stand ins for real analysis.
That habit was always risky. The AVOID Act removes the time buffer that once made it survivable.
What Certificates Do Not Do
A certificate does not amend a policy. It does not grant Additional Insured status. It does not expand coverage. It does not override exclusions or endorsements.
Most certificates include disclaimers stating exactly that.
Yet, when timelines are accelerated, it is easy to try and still rely on them to justify defense and indemnity decisions.
Why Time Pressure Makes Certificates Dangerous
Compressed timelines increase the temptation to rely on whatever arrives first. Certificates often arrive before the policy, endorsements, or contract.
Under the AVOID Act, early decisions driven by certificates can lock in defense obligations before actual coverage is confirmed.
Once defense is extended, reversing course is difficult. Expectations are set. Costs accrue. Disputes follow.
Certificates Versus Real Coverage Analysis
Coverage analysis requires the policy. It requires endorsements. It requires understanding how allegations line up with coverage grants and exclusions.
Certificates provide none of that.
They describe intent, not obligation. They suggest possibility, not certainty.
Treating them as coverage proof turns a summary document into a substitute for analysis.
How the AVOID Act Exposes This Shortcut
The AVOID Act did not make certificates unreliable. They always were!
What changed is how fast reliance on them creates consequences. There is no longer time to rely on comfort documents while waiting for real information.
The compressed clock demands real analysis early or not at all.
The Disciplined Alternative
Disciplined claims handling treats certificates as administrative documents only.
Policies and endorsements drive coverage. Contracts drive indemnity. Defense decisions follow confirmed obligations, not summaries.
This approach requires more effort up front. It prevents years of unnecessary defense spend later.
The Takeaway
Certificates of insurance feel helpful when time is tight. That is when they are most dangerous.
Under the AVOID Act, claims teams that remember what certificates do and do not do will avoid avoidable exposure. Teams that rely on them will lose control of their files quickly.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Certificates of insurance often feel like a shortcut when time is tight, which is exactly when they create the most risk. The next post in this series will be published on Monday, where we will examine choice of law and why compressed timelines increase jurisdictional mistakes rather than eliminate them.
I hope you have a good weekend!
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