How to read an ACORD 25
DueFiles
Last reviewed 2026-09-23
An ACORD 25 is a summary a producer issues. Read it block by block. Each block tells you what the producer entered. None of the blocks is the policy, and none of them is an endorsement.
Insured
The insured block names who the policies cover, usually the vendor. It does not decide that the legal entity on your contract is the same name. A trade name in this block can hide a different company than the one you hired. Compare it to the vendor record and leave a mismatch visible.
Certificate holder
The holder is who receives the certificate. It does not make that party an additional insured. You still want the holder to match the contract, because a wrong holder is its own gap. Then go look for the endorsement.
Insurers
The insurer column names the carriers the producer listed and a letter that ties each carrier to a coverage row. It does not decide that the carrier is admitted, solvent, or acceptable to your contract. If your requirement says anything about the insurer, the reviewer checks that separately. The column alone is a name on a summary.
Dates
Each coverage row has effective and expiration dates the producer entered. They do not renew the policy, and they do not prove the endorsement schedule survived the renewal. If the expiration falls before the job ends, including teardown on an event, the file is not current for the whole window. Ask for a replacement before you rely on it.
General liability limits
The general liability row shows the limits the producer typed, often each occurrence and general aggregate. A number that meets the contract does not decide additional insured status, a waiver, or primary and noncontributory wording. A number that is short is a gap even when every box is checked. Record the limit against the requirement, not against a feeling that the certificate looks strong.
Automobile
The automobile row is a different policy. A compliant general liability limit does not decide the auto limit, and a waiver on the general liability row does not decide an auto waiver. If the vendor drives onto your property, read this row on its own. If the contract does not require automobile coverage, do not invent a gap.
Workers' compensation
The workers' compensation row shows the limits or statutory notation the producer entered. It does not decide that a waiver of subrogation is on that policy. A general liability waiver is a different document. Read waiver of subrogation before you treat one checked box as both lines.
Umbrella
The umbrella or excess row is not general liability. It may sit above the underlying policies the producer listed. It does not, by itself, decide that additional insured status on the underlying policy extends to the umbrella. If the contract requires the umbrella to follow form or to name the additional insured, the reviewer looks for that evidence. The row's limit is only the limit.
Description of operations
This block, and an ACORD 101 if the producer needed more room, is where projects, locations, and form numbers get typed. A sentence that says additional insured status applies is the producer's statement. It does not attach CG 20 10 or CG 20 37. An empty 101 is not automatically a gap. A 101 that contradicts the certificate is a review item.
The checkbox block
Additional insured, waiver of subrogation, and any other boxes are producer statements. They do not decide that the endorsement is in the packet. The checkbox note is the short version. Use the free COI checker when you want the fields from one certificate on screen. The checker does not decide that a vendor is clear to work. An unreadable file returns an error.
This is an operations summary for people collecting vendor files. The policy, the endorsement schedule, and your contract control. It is not legal advice.