How to Read an ACORD 25 Form, Field by Field

To read an ACORD 25 certificate of liability insurance, match the insured to your vendor, compare each required policy's dates and limits with your requirements, and request the endorsement evidence your contract calls for. The certificate summarizes insurance; it does not create coverage or guarantee that a claim will be paid.

Keep three documents open: the certificate, your written insurance requirements, and any supplied endorsements. The review below helps you record what the paperwork supports and what still needs an answer from the producer.

What is an ACORD 25 form?

ACORD 25 is the liability-insurance certificate form. Other ACORD forms serve different purposes: ACORD 24 is a property-insurance certificate, while ACORD 27 and 28 provide evidence of property insurance. A liability certificate is therefore not a substitute for every insurance document a lender or contract may request. See ACORD's certificate FAQ, hosted by Nevada Risk Management.

If the terminology is new, start with what a certificate of insurance means.

Which fields should I check first?

Use this as a review worksheet. Record a discrepancy rather than silently interpreting it in the vendor's favor.

Form section	Record	Follow up when
Certificate date	When this document was issued	A newer certificate may be needed
Producer	Agency name and contact details	You cannot identify who issued it
Insured	Business name and address	The name differs from the contracted entity
Insurers and INSR LTR	Carrier for each policy row	A letter cannot be matched to a listed insurer
Policy number	Identifier for each required policy	A number is absent or unreadable
POLICY EFF / POLICY EXP	Start and end of each policy period	Work falls outside a listed period
Limits	Each required limit separately	A limit is missing or below the requirement
ADDL INSD / SUBR WVD	Reported endorsement indicators	Required evidence is missing or unclear
Description of operations	Project details and endorsement references	Wording does not identify the relevant work
Certificate holder	Recipient's name and address	The certificate is addressed to another entity

Producer, insured, and insurer are different roles

The producer is the agency or broker shown as issuing the certificate. The insured is the business whose insurance is summarized. The insurer is the company providing the policy. Do not record the producer as the carrier in your tracking sheet.

A spelling difference, trade name, or related company deserves clarification. Ask the producer how the insured shown relates to the vendor you contracted; the certificate alone cannot resolve that relationship. Do not alter the PDF yourself to make the names match.

How do the insurer letters work?

Trace each policy row's insurer letter back to the insurer list. Record that carrier beside the policy number so a later renewal can be compared row by row. Different coverage lines may have different carriers. An NAIC identifier identifies an insurer; it is not a financial-strength rating or an authenticity check.

How do I read the coverage grid?

Read each required line independently. A current general liability policy does not tell you whether the auto policy is current. The date at the top of the certificate is not a replacement for the policy dates in the grid.

• Commercial general liability: compare the each-occurrence limit and the relevant aggregate limits separately. Note whether the form reports the aggregate as applying per policy, project, or location.
• Automobile liability: record the reported covered-auto selections and limit. If your requirement specifies hired or non-owned autos, ask for clarification when the form does not establish that detail.
• Umbrella or excess liability: record its own dates, limits, and policy number. Do not automatically add its limit to every underlying policy; ask the producer to confirm how it applies to the required coverage.
• Workers' compensation and employers' liability: record the statutory indication and each employers' liability limit. An empty line is unresolved evidence, not proof of an exemption.

The form summarizes reported coverage. Exclusions, conditions, and whether coverage applies to particular work require the underlying policy and professional review. South Dakota's Division of Insurance explains the limits of certificates.

Worked example: current dates, but an incomplete review

This is a fictional paperwork example, not a coverage determination. Suppose your written requirements call for a $1 million general liability each-occurrence limit, a $2 million general aggregate, and additional insured evidence for a job ending October 31.

Item	Certificate shows	Review note
Each occurrence	$1 million	Matches this numerical requirement
General aggregate	$2 million	Matches this numerical requirement; does not establish the unused balance
Policy expiration	September 30	Request renewal evidence for October work
ADDL INSD	Marked	Request and review the applicable endorsement
Certificate holder	Your organization	Confirms the named recipient, not insured status

The useful outcome is a short follow-up list: obtain renewal evidence and resolve the endorsement requirement. Two matching limits do not make the whole submission complete.

What do ADDL INSD and SUBR WVD mean?

ADDL INSD refers to additional insured status. SUBR WVD refers to waiver of subrogation. Record these indicators, then ask for the applicable policy wording or endorsement when your requirements call for it.

The Texas Department of Insurance's certificate FAQ explains the connection between these indicators and endorsements, including specific Texas rules for blanket endorsements. Those rules should not be assumed to describe every state.

For the underlying distinctions, see certificate holder vs. additional insured and waiver of subrogation.

What should I look for in the description of operations?

Compare the project, location, and endorsement references with the documents you requested. Save the actual wording in your review notes. If it says that status applies when required by written contract, request the relevant endorsement rather than treating the sentence as unconditional approval.

A listed form number helps identify the document to request. It does not establish that all its conditions are satisfied. Our additional insured endorsement guide explains why the actual form and edition matter.

Does an ACORD 25 promise cancellation notice?

The standard revised cancellation wording refers to the policy's provisions. The old wording about an insurer endeavoring to mail notice was removed in the 2009–2010 revisions; it should not be described as the modern promise. ACORD documents that change in its certificate FAQ.

Ask the producer what notice rights, if any, apply to your organization. Track renewals separately, because an expiration reminder and notice of an early cancellation solve different problems.

What should I send back when something is missing?

Use a specific request rather than “please fix the COI”:

Please review the certificate for [vendor] and [project]. We need clarification of [insured name], renewal evidence covering work after [date], and the endorsement supporting [requirement]. Please send the corrected certificate and applicable supporting documents, or identify which requested items are not provided by the policy.

Keep the original submission, reply, and review notes together. For recurring renewals, use the COI tracking spreadsheet workflow.

Can a checker do this review for me?

The free COI checker extracts reported fields from a certificate and compares them with your selected requirements. Use its evidence to organize follow-up. It does not authenticate a policy, supply missing endorsements, or determine whether an insurer will cover a claim.

This guide is decision support, not insurance, legal, or coverage advice. Ask your insurance professional about policy interpretation and requirements for your work.