How I keep coi tracking simple across every vendor and handyman

Question

Something that doesn't get talked about enough on the landlord side: every handyman, cleaner, and contractor who steps onto your property is a liability question. If someone gets hurt and their insurance lapsed, guess whose property they were on.

I work with property managers and landlords on the operations side, and the organized ones all run some version of this:

1. COI before keys. Nobody gets property access until their certificate of insurance is on file — GL at minimum, workers' comp if they bring a crew. No "I'll send it over tonight."

2. One tracker, all properties. Vendor name, which properties they service, policy expiry dates. A simple spreadsheet, reviewed monthly. Takes 20 m

inutes.

3. Annual refresh. Insurance renews yearly — so does your file. Set a calendar reminder per vendor, or batch it every January.

4. Match the requirement to the risk. The roofer needs higher limits than the lawn guy. Write down your minimums once, then it's copy-paste.

The landlords who get burned are never the ones who didn't care — they're the ones who trusted a verbal "yeah I'm insured" and never checked the dates. Paperwork isn't paranoia. It's the cheapest insurance you have.

How are you all handling vendor docs — formal system or still in the "I'll get to it" phase?

Divin Kanyama · Answer

@Willson Dinayen This is a great reminder that vendor management is part of risk management. A COI is a good starting point, but landlords should also confirm that the policy is active, the limits match the work, and the vendor’s name matches the person or company performing it. For higher-risk projects, the contract should also address additional insured status, indemnification, licensing, permits, and subcontractor requirements.

A simple tracker and consistent “no documents, no access” policy can prevent convenience from overriding the process. It may feel overly formal for a small repair, but one uninsured incident can erase years of cash flow. The key is building the requirement into onboarding so it becomes routine rather than something reviewed only after a problem.

Willson Dinayen · Answer

Divin — great add. The name-matching point especially: the COI means a lot less if the name on it isn't the person or company actually doing the work. Confirming the policy is active and the limits match the job are the two checks most people skip, and they're the two that matter when something goes wrong. Appreciate you spelling out the additional-insured and indemnification angle for higher-risk projects too — that's the piece landlords tend to learn the hard way.

How I keep coi tracking simple across every vendor and handyman

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