Contractors Insured offers free reference tools for contractors in California and Texas, including a plain-English COI glossary, state-by-state COI requirements, and bid and compliance checklists. Use them to request COIs correctly, meet general liability requirements, review compliance rules, and stay bid-ready.
Free contractor insurance reference tools
Use these on your next bid, share them with project managers, or link to them from your own resources.
Contractor Insurance and COI Glossary
Plain-English definitions of common COI, endorsement, and policy terms so you can read certificates and requirements with confidence.
COI Requirements by State (2026)
State by state certificate of insurance requirements for contractors in California and Texas, so you know exactly what to request and provide on each job.
How to use these resources
Most delays come from missing details, wrong wording, or unclear requirements. These pages are designed to reduce back and forth.
Use this page if you are:
- Building a bid packet and want to know what to request, and when
- Trying to get a COI accepted by a GC, owner, or property manager
- Reviewing endorsement requirements and need plain-language explanations
- Preparing for a premium audit or fixing class code issues
If you need coverage recommendations, the fastest path is still the quote flow: Get a Quote.
Popular checklists and guides
Start with the COI checklist and bid compliance checklist if you are bidding or onboarding.
COI Checklist (request it right the first time)
Helps you collect certificate holder details, job info, limits, endorsement asks, and recipient emails so COIs go out with fewer revisions.
Bid Compliance Checklist
Covers common COI and endorsement requirements you see in bid packets, and how to package a clean request.
Premium Audit Survival Guide
What to track during the year, which documents matter, and how to reduce surprise bills at audit time.
Additional Insured Wording Examples
Examples of common wording patterns, plus what to verify in the contract packet. This is educational and should be confirmed against the GC or owner requirements.
Contractor Class Codes Explained
How class codes drive premiums and why misclassification can surface during audits.
Fast compliance links (COIs and endorsements)
These are the pages contractors reference most when a bid packet says to provide a COI and endorsements.
- Certificate of Insurance (COI) basics
- Additional Insured explained
- Primary and Noncontributory explained
- Waiver of Subrogation explained
- Premium audit basics
- Contractor class codes
Need a COI fast? Existing clients can request a COI. If you are new to us, start with Get a Quote.
Quick definitions (so you request the right thing)
A COI is proof of coverage. Many contract requirements call for endorsements.
- COI: Proof of coverage and limits at a point in time.
- Additional Insured (AI): Often required and typically granted by endorsement when available and approved.
- Primary and Noncontributory (PNC): Common contract requirement intended to make your policy respond first in certain situations.
- Waiver of Subrogation (WOS): Common requirement that can change recovery rights in certain situations.
- Premium audit: End of term verification process that can adjust premium based on actual payroll, classifications, and exposure.
- Class codes: Classification system that affects pricing and audit outcomes.
Resources by trade
Trade details matter. If you want trade-specific guidance, start at your trade hub.
Want us to recommend coverage for your trade and help you stay bid-ready?