Research from COI Journal
23 white papers and analyst briefs on where contractor COIs break and the checks that catch it. Each one is written and sourced by the editors of COI Journal, the editorial site Forsured publishes.
COI Journal is vendor neutral. It doesn't rank or review software, ours included. Our product pages are here on forsured.ai. Its reports are general information, not legal or insurance advice.
White papers
- R-13 · Nov 13, 2026What to require from any COI tool: a vendor-neutral specification
A vendor-neutral specification for COI tracking tools: what to require, how to test it, and the questions to ask in a demo.
- R-12 · Nov 13, 2026Closing a coverage gap without the email chain: a deficiency workflow for GCs and brokers
A deficiency workflow that helps GCs, trades and brokers close contractor coverage gaps in one pass instead of an email chain.
- R-11 · Nov 13, 2026One set of rules per project: tracking requirements and renewals across active jobs
Running different insurance requirements per project and keeping every contractor renewal current across a portfolio of jobs.
- R-10 · Nov 13, 2026Can AI review a COI? What machines do well, and where people stay in the loop
What AI can and can't do when reviewing contractor COIs and endorsements against project requirements, and where people stay in charge.
- R-09 · Nov 13, 2026Spreadsheet, service or software: a vendor-neutral way to choose how to manage contractor COIs
Comparing spreadsheets, outsourced tracking services and software for contractor COIs, with a scoring method that names no vendors.
- R-08 · Nov 13, 2026The broker's side of the COI: why requests pile up and how to answer deficiency notices
For construction brokers on where COI and endorsement requests come from, why deficiency notices repeat, and a way to cut the load.
- R-07 · Nov 13, 2026What goes into subcontract insurance requirements: a field guide for GCs and brokers
The insurance requirements GCs put in subcontracts, piece by piece, with real examples from two public owners' published exhibits.
- R-06 · Nov 13, 2026When a contractor's coverage lapses mid-project: the exposure and the playbook
What a GC is exposed to when a trade's insurance lapses or is cancelled mid-project, and a step-by-step playbook to respond.
- R-05 · Nov 13, 2026Additional insured endorsements, explained: CG 20 10, CG 20 37 and the automatic forms
Additional insured endorsements: what CG 20 10, CG 20 37, CG 20 38 and the automatic forms do, and how to check them.
- R-04 · Nov 13, 2026How to read a COI against contract requirements, line by line
A box-by-box method for reading an ACORD 25 certificate against a project's insurance requirements, with what each box can't show.
- R-03 · Nov 13, 2026Why every trade sends a certificate: the COI's job in construction risk transfer
What a certificate of insurance is, why general contractors collect one from every trade, and what it can and can't prove.
- R-01 · Nov 13, 2026A certificate is not coverage: six ways contractor COIs fail project requirements
Why contractor certificates of insurance pass a glance and still fail the project, and the six failure modes worth checking.
Analyst briefs
- R-23 · Nov 13, 2026What does manual COI tracking cost? Reading the one published estimate
The BCS estimate that manual COI tracking costs $36,400 a year: how it's built, what it leaves out, and how to build your own.
- R-22 · Nov 13, 2026Fake certificates and phantom insurers: what state regulators have warned
What New Jersey, Maryland, Texas and Florida regulators have said about false certificates, fake insurers and how to verify coverage.
- R-21 · Nov 13, 2026Wrap-ups and certificates: what changes for contractor COIs on an OCIP or CCIP
Owner and contractor controlled insurance programs, what they cover and exclude, and which COIs a GC still has to collect.
- R-20 · Nov 13, 2026Two public owners, two insurance exhibits: Oregon DOT and Sonoma County compared
Comparing the published contractor insurance requirements of Oregon DOT and Sonoma County, line by line, with what GCs should take away.
- R-19 · Nov 13, 2026How the ISO additional insured endorsements changed: 2004, 2013 and 2019
How ISO's additional insured endorsements changed in 2004, 2013 and 2019, and why the edition date on an endorsement matters.
- R-18 · Nov 13, 2026Underreported payroll: what six construction workers' comp fraud cases show GCs
Six construction workers' comp premium fraud cases from 2022 to 2026, the common pattern, and what a GC can check.
- R-17 · Nov 13, 2026Checking workers' comp yourself: what public proof of coverage lookups can and can't tell you
Public workers' comp proof of coverage lookups in New York, Florida and elsewhere, what they show, and their limits for GCs.
- R-16 · Nov 13, 2026What insurance regulators say about AI, and what it means for AI-assisted COI review
The NAIC's AI model bulletin, its adoption by 24 states and D.C., the 2026 pilot, and lessons for buyers of AI-assisted COI review.
- R-15 · Nov 13, 2026The Q3 2026 insurance market for contractors: casualty up, property down, and what it means for endorsements
Q3 2026 commercial insurance rates from Marsh's index, construction carrier growth, and what it means for contractor requirements.
- R-14 · Nov 13, 2026The ACORD 25's new limits sentence: what changed in the 2025/12 edition, and what GCs should do
The ACORD 25 (2025/12) limits wording: certificates may now show requested limits rather than full policy limits.
- R-02 · Nov 13, 2026Rented, falsified, excluded: what 2026's cases say about trusting a contractor COI
Four 2026 fraud and coverage cases, what a certificate could and couldn't have shown in each, and the checks that matter.
New reports go out every weekday. Read them all at coijournal.com/reports, or get them weekly in The COI Digest.