A vendor's certificate of insurance expired. Now what?

It usually means the policy renewed and nobody sent you the new certificate. Occasionally it means the coverage really lapsed. Here's a routine to find out which, quickly.

1. Confirm what actually expired

A certificate lists several policies, each with its own expiration date. Check which line passed its date: general liability, auto, workers' comp, or umbrella. If only the auto policy expired on a cleaning vendor that never drives to your site, that's a different conversation than an expired general liability policy on a roofer.

Not sure where the dates are? Our guide to reading a certificate of insurance shows the POLICY EXP column, or drop the PDF into the free certificate checker to see every date at once.

2. Ask for the renewed certificate the same day

Most expired certificates are paperwork, not lapsed coverage: the policy renewed, but the agent sent the new certificate only to the vendor, or not at all. Email the vendor and ask them to have their agent send the renewed certificate. Name the policy and the date so it's a one-step request. Template 3 in our certificate request templates is written for exactly this.

3. Decide what happens to scheduled work

This is a business decision, and your contract with the vendor usually spells out what proof of insurance it requires. Many companies follow a simple rule set in advance, for example:

No new jobs are scheduled until a current certificate arrives.
Work already underway continues for a short grace period while the renewal is requested.
Anything high-risk (roofing, electrical, tree work) pauses until the certificate is current.

Whatever rule you choose, write it down and apply it the same way to every vendor. Ask your broker or attorney if you're unsure what your contracts require.

4. Follow up on a schedule

If nothing arrives within a week, send one follow-up and copy the vendor's office manager. Keep a dated note of each request: "requested renewal 3/2, followed up 3/9". If the vendor says the policy was canceled rather than renewed, treat it as a lapse, not a paperwork delay.

5. Stop it from happening again

Expired certificates are almost always a calendar problem. Two habits prevent most of them:

Track every policy's expiration date, not just the earliest one. Our free tracking spreadsheet has a column per coverage and a formula that flags anything within 30 days.
Ask for the renewal about 30 days before expiration, not after.

COI Relay does both automatically. It reads each certificate, tracks every expiration date, and emails the vendor 30, 14 and 7 days before a policy expires, then again if it lapses. You get one weekly summary of who still owes you a certificate.

Let the reminders run themselves

COI Relay reads every vendor's certificate, checks it against the requirements you set, and emails vendors before their coverage expires. Built for property managers and contractors with 20 to 500 vendors.

See plans

This guide explains what certificates show. It isn't insurance or legal advice; ask your broker or attorney what to require.