How to verify a certificate of insurance (COI)

a COI is not the FMCSA filing

A certificate of insurance is a snapshot from an agent or broker of record. It can be useful. It is not Licensing & Insurance. Pending cancellations, form type, and the insurer on the federal file live on L&I — usually BMC-91 / BMC-91X (or a trust in lieu).

Fraud desks forge COIs, reuse old certificates, or name a different insured than the motor carrier on your rate confirmation. Treat every emailed PDF as a claim to verify, not as permission to cover.

Public liability (BI&PD) on a COI is still not cargo insurance. Read the coverage labels. If the load needs cargo limits, ask for those pages separately and match them to the commodity and invoice value.

match named insured to the legal person

The named insured must be the same legal person as the FMCSA record and the rate confirmation — including Inc versus LLC, punctuation, and DBA rules your desk already uses for name match.

If the COI names a holding company, a dispatch service, or a near-name, stop. Do not “know what they meant.” Get a certificate that names the motor carrier on the docket, or do not cover.

Cross-check the USDOT / MC on the certificate (when present) to the numbers on the thread and on L&I. Extra numbers that belong to a different company are a stop.

dates, limits, and producers

Read policy effective and expiration dates against pickup and delivery. A certificate that expires before the load moves is not coverage for that load.

Read BI&PD limits against 49 CFR 387.9 for the commodity and equipment. Ordinary interstate property floors are not cargo. Hazmat and other rows have higher floors — read the table for this shipment.

Note the producer / agency and the insurer. If L&I shows a different insurer or a cancellation effective before pickup, believe L&I. Save both screens with the load file.

desk workflow with Verifreta

Look up the DOT or MC first. Match legal name. Open L&I for Active authority and the BMC filing. Then read the COI against that same legal person.

On the Desk plan you can upload a COI and compare named insured, limits, and policy dates against the carrier on file. That catches mismatches early. It still does not replace the L&I filing check.

If the COI and L&I disagree, do not average them. Fix the file or do not cover.

desk checklist

• DOT/MC looked up; legal name matches the rate con.
• L&I shows Active property authority and required BMC filing for this load.
• COI named insured matches that legal person (entity type included).
• Policy dates cover pickup through delivery.
• BI&PD limits meet the 387.9 row for this commodity; cargo asked for separately when needed.
• Producer and insurer noted; L&I insurer and cancellation status checked the same day.

what belongs in the load file

• Dated L&I screen (authority + BMC).
• COI PDF with named insured, dates, limits, producer.
• Note if COI and L&I insurers differ — and what you did about it.
• Census phone callback note if this is a first-time MC.

fail closed

• Named insured is not the motor carrier on the rate con / L&I.
• L&I missing required BMC filing or cancellation effective before pickup.
• COI expires before the load moves.
• Covering on COI alone without L&I.
• Treating BI&PD limits as cargo coverage.