You were asked for a certificate of insurance

A management company you work with sent you an email asking for a certificate of insurance. This page explains what they need and how to send it. It takes about a minute, and you don't need an account.

Why did I get this email?

Community associations require their vendors to carry insurance, and to prove it with a current certificate. The email comes from the management company that looks after the association you work for. You'll get a reminder when a certificate is missing, about to expire, or has expired.

Who is Coifish, and is this email genuine?

Coifish is the service the management company uses to collect certificates of insurance. The email was sent at their request, it carries their name, and a reply goes to them, not to us. Sending a certificate costs you nothing, and Coifish never asks you for payment, passwords, or bank details. If you want to be sure, contact the management company the way you usually do, for example by phone, and ask whether they sent it.

What do I need to send?

A certificate of insurance (often called a COI, usually an ACORD 25 form) showing your current policies. Your insurance agent or carrier issues it on request.

• Certificate holder: the name the email asks for, written exactly as it appears there. It is usually the association you work for; some management companies ask to be named themselves.
• Additional insured: if the email asks for it, the certificate holder must also be listed as additional insured.
• One certificate per request. If each association is the certificate holder and you work for several, each one needs its own certificate naming it, and you'll get a separate request for each. If the management company is the holder, one certificate covers all of them, and the email says so.

The simplest way: forward the email to your insurance agent. It says exactly what is required, and your agent can use the button in it to upload the certificate for you.

How do I send it?

1. Click the upload button in the email.
2. Attach the certificate (PDF, JPG, or PNG, up to 25 MB).
3. Enter the expiration date of each policy on it, and submit.

The dates were filled in for me

When you attach your certificate, the page tries to read the policy dates from it and fill them in, to save you typing. This happens on your own device. Software can misread a date or miss a line, so compare each one with the POLICY EXP column on your certificate, correct anything that is wrong, and check the box to confirm them. If nothing is filled in, type the dates as usual.

What happens next?

The management company reviews what you sent. If something needs fixing, they'll email you with the reason and a new link. Once it is approved, the reminders stop until that certificate is close to expiring.

The link doesn't work

Each link is for one request, works once, and lasts 30 days. If yours has expired or was already used, open it anyway and choose "Email me a new link". A fresh one is sent to the address the management company has on file.

I'm not the right person for this

Open the link and choose "Not the right person? Send future requests to someone else", then enter the right person's name and email. The management company reviews it, and once they approve, requests go to that person instead.

We no longer work for that association

Open the link and choose "We no longer work for" that association. The management company is told, and reminders about it pause while they confirm.

We don't carry one of the coverages listed

Asked for a coverage you don't have? Send the certificate you do have, and reply to the email to tell the management company which one you don't carry (a sole proprietor with no employees has no workers' compensation, for example). They decide whether it is required of you.

If the page lists a policy you no longer carry (workers' compensation after you stopped having employees, for example), open the link and choose "We don't carry one of these coverages". The management company is told and decides whether it is still required. Reminders pause for up to a week while they review it. If your other coverage is also due, you still need to send a new certificate.

I have a question

Reply to the email you received. Your reply goes straight to the management company that sent it.