A certificate is evidence—not the whole policy.

What you will learn.

How to identify the lease’s insurance requirements, work with your insurance professional, and distinguish documentation from coverage.

Start with the insurance provision.

Locate required coverage types, limits, named entities, endorsements, timing, and any other conditions. Give your broker or insurer the actual requirements instead of a remembered description. The tenant’s legal name, property address, and parties to be recognized should be checked carefully.

Coverage needs differ. Liability coverage, coverage for business property, interruption coverage, and other policies serve different purposes. Whether a loss is covered depends on the actual policy, facts, exclusions, and conditions—not on the name of a lease requirement.

Understand the documents.

A certificate typically summarizes reported insurance information. It does not itself create or alter the underlying policy coverage. Being listed as a certificate holder is not the same as being made an additional insured through the policy’s applicable terms or endorsement. Have your insurance professional confirm the required status and documents.

Worked scenario.

A tenant sends a current certificate that names the management company as certificate holder. The lease requires specified parties to be additional insureds. The next step is to verify with the insurance professional whether the actual coverage and endorsement meet that requirement. The certificate’s receipt does not resolve that question on its own.

Renewal is a process, not a one-time upload.

Record renewal dates and arrange timely updates through the property’s approved channel. Check for a change in insurer, named insured, limits, endorsement language, or parties. A previously accepted document does not establish that every later policy is compliant.

When there is a loss.

Follow the policy’s reporting requirements and notify the appropriate property contact. Preserve factual records without making unsupported admissions or promising payment for another party. Ask the insurer or broker about claim handling, deadlines, deductibles, and what documentation to provide. The lease’s notice and responsibility provisions may also apply.

Your insurance worksheet.

List each lease requirement, the relevant policy or endorsement, effective and expiration dates, named entities, and the person who verified the match. Record unresolved differences. Do not upload banking information, sensitive identification, or a full claim file through the public website.

Ask AUM this way.

“We have provided the documents addressing Section __. Please identify any remaining documentation issue so our insurance professional can review it.” Questions about whether a loss is insured belong with qualified insurance advisers.

Practice reflection.

Does a certificate showing a policy limit guarantee payment for a particular incident? No. The actual coverage and claim facts must be reviewed.

Bring the lease back to the conversation.

Before asking AUM to act, identify the relevant section, any amendment, the dates involved, and the documents supporting your question. If the issue is a legal interpretation or dispute, seek advice from your own attorney. Routine staff conversations do not change your lease; any change must meet the agreement’s requirements and applicable law.

Background reading.

Washington insurance regulator: certificate-of-insurance rule. Cited for the distinction between a certificate and coverage; it is not presented as the governing law for every AUM property.