A retailer sent insurance requirements. What should you check?

The email looks simple: provide evidence of insurance before the first shipment. The attachment may be less simple. It can ask for several policies, specified limits, particular entities, and additional-insured wording. A quick certificate request can leave the more important questions unanswered.

Start with the full agreement and the deadline.

Keep the insurance schedule with the contract it belongs to. Tell your broker which legal entity is signing, what products are being supplied, where they will be sold, and when evidence is due. A screenshot of a single limit gives much less context than the complete requirement.

A certificate and a policy do different jobs.

A certificate provides evidence of insurance; it does not create or expand the coverage in the policy. New York’s insurance regulator makes that distinction explicit in its guidance on certificates. That guidance is specific to New York, and the actual policy and applicable law still matter.

For the review, ask which policy provision or endorsement supports each requested statement. Avoid treating a name on a certificate as the end of the additional-insured discussion.

Turn the requirements into a comparison.

• Which policies and limits does the retailer request?
• Which company names and product activities need to be described?
• Does the agreement request additional-insured status, primary and noncontributory wording, or a waiver of subrogation?
• What supporting endorsements does the retailer want to see?
• Who will resolve a requirement that the current insurance cannot satisfy?

Use a simple three-column working list: requirement, current evidence, and unresolved question. The purpose is to expose the items that need attention before the shipment deadline.

The insurance schedule is only part of the contract.

Ask your attorney to review indemnity obligations, warranties, and other legal commitments. Ask your broker to compare the insurance requirements with the insurance program. Those conversations belong together, but an insurance review does not replace legal review.

What should you send first?

Start with your business website, the retailer’s name, and the decision deadline. Once a secure document-sharing method is agreed, provide the complete requirements and relevant policy documents. Do not send confidential agreements through the website’s initial inquiry form.

If a requirement cannot be met as written, identify that issue early. Ask what options are available rather than assuming it can be resolved by changing the certificate.

Related guides

• Product liability
• Umbrella & excess liability
• Consumer brands & e-commerce

Bring the next decision into your insurance review.

A retailer requirement to work through? Share your business website and deadline, and ask Cory about the next steps for an insurance review.

Request an insurance review

General educational information. Examples are illustrative. Coverage depends on the facts, applicable policy terms, underwriting, and applicable law. Submitting an inquiry does not bind, amend, or cancel coverage.

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