Category: CertFocus

COI Explained: How Certificates of Insurance Protect Your Business

Business Insurance Management Concept

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Introduction

If you hire contractors, work with vendors, or lease commercial properties, you’ve probably encountered the term COI – short for Certificate of Insurance. But what does a COI mean, who needs one, and how can it protect your company from unexpected risks?

This in-depth guide explains what a Certificate of Insurance is, who requires it, how it works, and how you can manage COIs properly to avoid costly surprises.

What Is a COI?

A Certificate of Insurance (COI) is a document issued by an insurance provider or agent to prove that an individual or business holds valid insurance coverage.

A COI provides a quick snapshot of important policy details, including:

  check mark icon  The insured party’s name and address

  check mark icon  The insurance carrier’s information

  check mark icon  Types of coverage (general liability, workers’ compensation, auto liability, etc.)

  check mark icon  Policy numbers

  check mark icon  Coverage limits

  check mark icon  Effective and expiration dates

  check mark icon  The certificate holder’s name (the party requesting proof)

  check mark icon  Any relevant endorsements or special terms

A COI does not replace the full insurance policy. Instead, it is a convenient way to share the critical facts showing that insurance is in place and meets contractual requirements.

Most businesses in the United States rely a standard Certificate of Liability Insurance format that is recognized industry-wide.

Why Do Companies Require Certificates of Insurance?

Requiring a COI is a straightforward way to confirm that your contractors, vendors, or tenants can cover potential damages, accidents, or lawsuits without involving your own insurance first.

For example:

  • In construction, general contractors demand COIs from subcontractors before work begins to ensure they have liability and workers’ compensation insurance.
  • In property management, landlords request COIs to verify that tenants and service providers carry coverage to handle damages or injuries on-site.
  • In government contracting, bid requirements often mandate proof of specific coverage types and limits.

Without a COI, you could be stuck paying for an incident caused by an uninsured or underinsured third party.

COIs in Real Estate

In real estate, COIs are especially critical for owners and property managers. A landlord, for instance, should request COIs before leasing space to a commercial tenant or hiring a contractor for maintenance or renovations. This confirms that the tenant or contractor has current liability and workers’ compensation insurance, protecting the property owner from third-party claims related to the tenant’s or contractor’s actions.

Who Is the Certificate Holder?

The certificate holder is the individual or organization that asks for proof of insurance. The certificate holder’s information appears on the COI, and they are notified if the insurance is canceled before its expiration date.

However, it’s a common misconception that being listed as the certificate holder means you’re covered. In reality, the certificate holder is just being informed of the insurance status – they do not receive insurance benefits from the policy itself.

If you want actual coverage under someone else’s policy, you must be listed as an additional insured. This requires a separate policy endorsement, not just a note on the COI.

For example, if a property owner wants protection against claims arising from a contractor’s work on their building, they must ensure the contractor’s policy includes an additional insured endorsement naming the owner.

How to Request and Review COIs

To properly protect your business:

  1. Include clear insurance requirements in every contract. Define what types of coverage are required, minimum policy limits, and whether you need to be named as an additional insured.
  2. Request the COI directly from the vendor’s or contractor’s insurance agent or broker. This helps prevent fraud and ensures the certificate is legitimate.
  3. Review each COI carefully. Confirm the types of insurance, coverage amounts, policy effective dates, and certificate holder details match your contract.
  4. Check for the correct endorsements. If you require additional insured status, verify that it is included as an official endorsement to the policy, not just mentioned on the COI.
  5. Track expiration dates and renewals. Policies typically renew annually. Make sure you receive updated COIs before the old ones expire.

Common COI Pitfalls

Even well-meaning businesses can slip up when handling COIs. Typical mistakes include:

  • Accepting expired or incomplete COIs
  • Assuming a COI alone guarantees coverage for the certificate holder
  • Failing to follow up for updated COIs when policies renew
  • Filing certificates in scattered emails or spreadsheets instead of using a centralized system

These oversights can leave you open to claims that should have been covered by the other party’s insurance.

Why Automate COI Tracking?

Manually requesting, reviewing, and renewing COIs is time-consuming and error-prone, especially for companies managing many vendors or tenants.

COI tracking software and risk management services help by:

  •   check mark icon  Automatically requesting COIs directly from insurance agents
  •   check mark icon  Verifying that certificates meet your requirements
  •   check mark icon  Sending reminders when a policy is about to expire
  •   check mark icon  Storing all COIs in one organized, searchable database
  •   check mark icon  Providing audit trails for compliance checks

 

Many companies also choose to outsource COI tracking to a specialized third-party firm. This ensures compliance while freeing up your team to focus on higher-value tasks.

How Vertikal RMS Simplifies COI Management

Vertikal RMS provides businesses with a robust vendor risk management platform that takes the hassle out of COI tracking and compliance. With Vertikal RMS, you can:

  •   check mark icon  Automate collection of COIs directly from insurance providers
  •   check mark icon  Get real-time alerts for missing, incomplete, or expired COIs
  •   check mark icon  Ensure vendors meet your specific insurance requirements
  •   check mark icon  Maintain up-to-date, easily accessible records
  •   check mark icon  Pass audits with confidence

 

This reduces legal and financial exposure and lets you spend less time tracking paperwork and more time growing your business.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What does COI stand for?
COI means Certificate of Insurance.

2. Who provides a COI?
A COI must be issued by a licensed insurance company or agent. It cannot be self-created.

3. Is a COI legally binding?
A COI is evidence that a valid insurance policy exists but does not itself provide coverage. Coverage is governed by the actual insurance policy.

4. Can a COI be forged?
Unfortunately, yes. This is why it’s best practice to request COIs directly from the issuing insurance agent and to verify authenticity.

5. How long is a COI valid?
A COI is valid for the duration of the underlying policy, typically one year. Always request an updated COI upon renewal.

6. Do I need a COI from every vendor?
You should require COIs from any vendor, contractor, or tenant whose activities could expose your business to liability.

7. Should I outsource COI tracking?
Outsourcing COI tracking to a trusted third-party can help ensure compliance, reduce internal workload, and eliminate costly oversights.

Final Thoughts

A Certificate of Insurance is more than just a formality – it’s an essential safeguard that keeps your business protected from unnecessary risk. By requiring, verifying, and tracking COIs properly, you make sure liability stays where it belongs: with the party doing the work and their insurer.

Ready to modernize your COI management and vendor compliance? Contact Vertikal RMS today to learn how we can help you protect your business with confidence.

Ready to Break Through the Certificate of Insurance Bottleneck?

CertFocus and Hawk I for expert COI Management

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Vertikal Introduces Instantaneous Reviews of COIs

Experience the Quickest and Most Precise Reviews of Certificates of Insurance (COI) Available in the Market

Validating supplier COIs is widely recognized as an inefficient process. It often feels like it takes an eternity to complete all the necessary steps, starting with requesting a supplier’s COI and concluding with verifying that the insurance meets or exceeds minimum coverage requirements. This waiting game causes headaches for everyone involved.

COI tracking is not only time-consuming but also labor-intensive. The process involves multiple steps, including requesting COIs, extracting coverage data, comparing that data to contractually defined insurance requirements, and determining compliance status.

 

CertFocus and Hawk I for expert COI Management

 

What Is Straight-Through COI Processing?

Vertikal’s proprietary Hawk-I technology enables rapid and accurate validation of supplier insurance certificates. Hawk-I extracts essential information from COIs, including dates, coverage types, coverage amounts, and checkboxes. Additionally, Hawk-I interprets the free-form language in the description of operations section of the certificate, extracting pertinent information that is crucial for compliance determination.

By organizing all important data from a COI into a structured format, Hawk-I allows for immediate comparison with coverage requirements, facilitating swift compliance assessments without the need for manual review of the COI document. This straight-through process ensures that the entire COI review is completed within seconds of receipt!

This significant increase in speed greatly improves the previously laborious and inefficient process of collecting and evaluating compliance for Certificates of Insurance.

 

Accurate COI management with Hawk-I

 

What Are the Benefits of Straight-Through COI Processing?

 

check mark icon Enhances Risk Management

Rapid reviews of Certificates of Insurance allow you to identify potential gaps in coverage promptly, ensuring you stay ahead of potential risks before they become problems.

check mark icon Enhances Visibility and Informed Decision-Making

The tracking system will provide real-time updates on the insurance status of your supply base. This allows for more informed business decisions, such as whether to engage or refrain from engaging a supplier, or to hold or release payment to a subcontractor, all based on accurate information.

check mark icon Eliminates False Compliance Statuses Caused by Processing Delays

Diligent suppliers regularly send updated certificates to address deficiencies and advise of coverage renewals. Delays in processing newly received COIs leads to the tracking system displaying outdated compliance statuses, such as showing an entity as compliant when it is actually non-compliant, or vice versa.

check mark icon Improves Supplier Onboarding

Certificates of Insurance (COIs) must be collected and reviewed for insurance coverage acceptability before finalizing onboarding approval and before commencing any business activities. Faster approval of COIs accelerates the onboarding process, allowing business activities to begin sooner and enhancing the satisfaction of all parties involved.

check mark icon Improves Supplier Relationships

Instantaneous reviews from straight-through Certificate of Insurance (COI) processing mean that suppliers are immediately informed whether their newly uploaded COI meets the requirements for providing proof of insurance coverage. Suppliers value these immediate COI reviews and compliance determinations, as it allows them to quickly move on to other activities.

check mark icon Leads to More Effective Agent/Broker Engagement

Producers of Certificates of Insurance (COIs) receive immediate feedback on whether the documents they upload are compliant. If a newly uploaded COI does not meet compliance standards, they are promptly notified, enabling them to make the necessary adjustments to address any deficiencies. As a result, agents and brokers no longer have to wait to determine the compliance status of the COI.

check mark icon Lowers Processing Costs and Saves Time

The straight-through processing of Certificates of Insurance (COIs) has removed the need for manual evaluations. This approach not only speeds up the review process but also improves the consistency of how reviews are conducted. Vertikal provides its clients with the flexibility to choose how they utilize straight-through processing. Some clients may prefer to use it for all incoming COIs, while others might opt to combine manual reviews with straight-through processing based on the types of vendors or specific requirements.

check mark icon Eliminates Backlogs Caused by Periods of High Volumes of Incoming COIs

Hawk-I addresses the challenges of document backlogs and delays that occur during periods of high incoming Certificate of Insurance (COI) volume. Each year, there are surges in COI submissions, particularly right after the end of calendar quarters, which coincide with common renewal dates: January 1st, April 1st, July 1st, and October 1st. These spikes in volume can strain resources, leading to backlogs and extended processing times for certificates. This situation can negatively impact supplier relationships and increase the likelihood that the tracking system does not reflect the most current policy information, as documents remain pending for processing.

By utilizing Hawk-I, organizations can effectively manage this issue, as it enables the review of documents and updates to compliance status at speeds significantly faster than manual reviews. With Hawk-I, the backlog of COIs requiring processing is eliminated.

check mark icon Can Be Used for Evaluating Other Insurance and Non-Insurance Documents

Hawk-I is a tool designed for evaluating both insurance and non-insurance documents. The AI model used in Hawk-I for managing Certificates of Insurance (COIs) can also automatically extract and review a variety of other documents. Any documents from business partners that require information validation are perfect candidates for a streamlined review process with Hawk-I. This will save your organization both time and money.

 

Conclusion

Navigating the complexities of Certificates of Insurance (COIs) can be challenging. With Hawk-I, straight-through processing becomes a reality. This innovative technology speeds up COI reviews while enhancing accuracy. All participants in the COI process will benefit, leading to improved supplier relations. The long-held goal has been to achieve straight-through processing of COIs, eliminating the need for manual reviews of each document. We are excited to be at the forefront of COI evaluation technology, ensuring our clients have the best COI tracking service and system capabilities available in the marketplace.

 

Ready for a Free AI Demo?

See how Hawk-I can transform your approach to 3rd party risk management.

Contact Vertikal today or email marketing@vertikalrms.com to schedule a live, free demo of Certfocus and to receive a proposal for the CertFocus system and services. Discover the difference that Hawk-I straight-through COI evaluation can make for your business.

Hawk-I: Revolutionizing Certificate of Insurance (COI) Verification and Tracking with AI-Powered Automation

Hawk I AI The Future of Insurance Compliance

Introducing Hawk-I AI - The Future of Insurance Compliance Tracking

 

Vertikal Risk Management Solutions (RMS) is pleased to introduce Hawk-I, a new AI tool that integrates seamlessly with our flagship COI tracking application, CertFocus. Now organizations can use automation to overcome the traditional friction points found in the COI tracking process, presenting a revolutionary leap forward in 3rd party risk management.

 

Why Improve 3rd Party Risk Management?

For decades, companies have struggled with inefficient and manual methods of verifying Certificates of Insurance (COI) from vendors, contractors, and suppliers. These documents are essential for ensuring that 3rd parties meet specific insurance requirements — yet until now, the process of reviewing and tracking COIs have been plagued by slow turnaround times, human error, and inconsistent accuracy.

Every organization that outsources work, hires contractors, or partners with vendors opens itself up to a range of risk exposures — from property damage to workplace accidents and cyber incidents. To manage this risk, businesses require valid, up-to-date evidence of insurance from each 3rd party. But when you’re managing hundreds or thousands of suppliers, the administrative burden becomes enormous!

At its core, 3rd party risk management is about trust — but that trust must be backed by validated information. In today’s complex operating landscape, the risks of relying on outdated or invalid insurance documentation are too great to ignore. Whether it’s a coverage lapse, an expired policy, or an exclusion clause buried in fine print, even small gaps can lead to major liability.

 

before and after Hawk I AI for COI

 

Hawk-I empowers businesses to proactively address these risks. Real-time compliance tracking allows stakeholders to detect and remediate issues before they become legal or financial headaches. Plus, with audit-ready data available instantly, organizations are better prepared for internal reviews, external audits, and regulatory inspections.

 

What’s Wrong with Traditional COI Processing?

Traditionally, COIs were reviewed manually, relying on staff to read and verify coverage details across various formats. Even with traditional COI software technologies such as Optical Character Recognition (OCR), challenges persisted. OCR technology is limited in its ability to interpret low-quality document scans, detect nuanced policy language in free-form text, or maintain high accuracy in dynamic document formats. These gaps not only slow down the process but also open the door to inaccuracy in determining COI compliance and increased loss exposure.

 

Tracking COIs

 

COI review is one of the most resource-draining tasks in vendor onboarding and on-going vendor management. Every year, millions of COIs are exchanged between businesses and their suppliers. Historically, this has involved:

  • • Manual entry and interpretation of policy information found on the COI
  • • Dependence on OCR systems that can’t recognize unstructured or low-quality text
  • • Multi-day delays for review and approval
  • • Lack of integration with internal systems, leading to siloed or outdated records
  • • High costs associated with data entry staff, error correction, and compliance follow-up

 

Hawk-I solves these problems with AI-driven automation that delivers measurable improvements across the board.

 

Can an AI Assistant Produce Better COI Management?

 

Using AI for COI Processing

 

Effective 3rd party risk management requires more than just collecting certificates of insurance documents — it demands artificially intelligent systems that can evaluate COI compliance in real time, reducing the risk of coverage lapses, and protecting the company from liability. That’s exactly what Vertikal aims to deliver. Enter Hawk-I, a game-changing AI tool designed to automate, streamline, and elevate the entire certificate of insurance compliance workflow.

 

What Is Hawk-I?

Hawk-I is an AI tool developed by Vertikal Risk Management Services to automate the COI review process within It’s CertFocus application. Trained on extensive real-world insurance data, Hawk-I uses natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to extract and analyze certificate of insurance information — whether it’s embedded in forms, free-form text, or PDF documents.

 

Hawk I AI Screenshot

 

How Does Hawk-I Achieve Instant COI Compliance?

By enabling COI processing with AI, Hawk-I replaces the high cost of manual reviews with automatic evaluations. Incoming COIs are scanned, validated, and processed in seconds (not days) with updated compliance status immediately available to all of the participants in the COI process (supplier, supplier agent, certificate holder) immediately after COIs are received.

 

how it works

 

Workflow for Hawk-I Intelligence:

 

Artificial Intelligence Workflow

 

What Are the Features & Benefits of Hawk-I?

 

Hawk I AI COI Processing

 

Instantly Extract COI Data

Hawk-I’s proprietary algorithms accurately extract policy information from both structured form fields and unstructured PDF documents. It takes complex policy text description from COI images and captures the necessary data with minimal error — far outperforming manual systems.

 

Get Rapid Compliance Status

With Hawk-I, what once took days now happens in seconds! The moment a COI is uploaded into CertFocus, Hawk-I reviews and processes it, giving both internal users and external vendors instant feedback on compliance status.

 

Save on Costs

Manual COI management involves hidden labor costs, errors, and compliance gaps. By automating data entry and reducing human intervention with AI, Hawk-I helps management teams focus on resolving risk—not processing paperwork.

 

Seamless Integration with CertFocus COI Application

Hawk-I doesn’t just analyze documents on it’s own — it integrates with our COI application, CertFocus effortlessly. Insurance data can flow directly into enterprise tools, ERPs, and contract management platforms, supporting real-time reporting and automated decision-making.

 

A Better User Experience & Collaboration

From compliance officers to procurement teams to vendors themselves, everyone benefits from Hawk-I’s responsiveness and transparency. Suppliers can get immediate confirmation of whether their documents meet requirements, improving relationships and reducing bottlenecks.

 

Handles Other Required Documents

Hawk-I’s AI engine is versatile. While initially trained for COIs, it can be adapted to interpret other business documents, image-based data, and compliance records—making it a valuable asset across departments and industries.

 

Please check back for more AI related news and updates from Vertikal.

 

Does CertFocus Integrate with Hawk-I?

CertFocus + Hawk-I AI Integration for COI Management

 

The introduction of Hawk-I builds upon the strength of Vertikal’s CertFocus application, which has been trusted by enterprises for over two decades to manage COIs and enforce risk management policies. CertFocus is widely regarded as a leader in the insurance technology space, helping organizations streamline compliance, protect their assets, and ensure accountability across their supply chain.

By integrating Hawk-I into CertFocus, Vertikal RMS delivers the most intelligent and efficient COI management solution on the market today. This innovation further underscores Vertikal’s role as a forward-thinking partner for risk leaders in industries ranging from construction and logistics to finance, healthcare, and energy.

A testimonial for Hawk-I

The future of COI management is here — and it’s powered by artificial intelligence. With Hawk-I, companies can finally eliminate the friction, inefficiency, and blind spots that have long plagued insurance compliance processes.

Ready for a Free AI Demo?

See how Hawk-I AI can transform your 3rd party risk management strategy.

Contact Vertikal today or email marketing@vertikalrms.com to schedule a live free demo of Hawk-I. Discover the difference that instant, intelligent COI evaluation can make for your business.

Leadership Profile – Vertikal COO Robert Rodriguez

Executive

Leadership Spotlight: New Vertikal COO Robert Rodriguez Brings Robust Knowledge and Experience

Welcome to the first Vertikal Leadership Spotlight. Today, we introduce you to Robert Rodriguez, who has joined Vertikal as our new COO. Robert comes to Vertikal bringing more than 25 years of technical and operations experience in the computer software industry. He has degrees in Business Information Systems from the University of Phoenix. His experience and leadership have been focused on developing and delivering technology-driven business services and solutions, providing outstanding client service, and driving profitable revenue growth for the companies he has served.

Robert is a seasoned expert with extensive experience managing complex software and service implementations. Under Robert’s leadership and vision, the industry’s first commercially successful insurance compliance product was introduced to market. Early in his long career, he spent nine years with Insurance Data Services (IDS) as Director of Information Technology, where he successfully led a team in the development and commercial introduction of one of the industry’s first certificate of insurance tracking software applications.

Following the 2007 acquisition of IDS by Ebix, Inc., Robert was promoted to Vice President of Operations, where he managed the combined operations and technology of the Ebix BPO Risk Compliance Solutions division. He later served as Vice President of Operations for Registry Monitoring Insurance Services.

Robert comes to Vertikal from Exigis, where he was Partner and COO. In that role, he was responsible for overseeing all areas of operations and delivering innovative, cost-effective business solutions to clients in support of risk management and contractor/vendor on-boarding and compliance efforts. In addition, he has integrated new and existing technology ideas to streamline processes to improve effectiveness and efficiency cost savings.

He is also highly experienced in financial management, human resources, business analytics, customer relationship management (CRM), and account management. His unique blend of technical, operations management, and customer relations expertise will enable him to successfully implement value-driven and scalable insurance compliance operations for Vertikal.

Robert is a builder, engager, and mobilizer of teams to capitalize on individual strengths and inspire outstanding performance. He prides himself on creating an environment of opportunity, while also restructuring and reorganizing suboptimal business processes to improve cost structures and profitability.

Current Vertikal COO, Lisa Deatherage, will be transitioning into a new role within the company, Client Advocate. In this role, Lisa will utilize her 22 years in the business to help drive client experience and increase value from the Vertikal offerings. Lisa brings her wealth of client knowledge to the role to deliver the best customer experience in the industry.

We welcome Robert and wish Lisa the best in her new leadership role at Vertikal.

About Vertikal

Vertikal provides certificates of insurance and prequalification solutions that help your organization rise above risk. We work hard to stay ahead and develop cutting-edge technological solutions and services that help you move beyond reactivity toward a more strategic level of risk management. Vertikal streamlines and automates even your most complex, labor-intensive risk management processes with flexible, intuitive, secure reporting systems that are easy to use.

Contact us to learn more about how Vertikal will make your risk management strategy more successful.

 

RELATED: Hiring of CTO Sidney Fein, One Platform, One Solution, Reduce Subcontractor Risk

 

A Better Reporting Tool For Stronger Risk Management

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Democratize data with a simple, secure reporting tool

Companies don’t lack for risk management data. Valuable business intelligence (BI) about vendors, suppliers and third-party contractors continually streams into organizations from myriad sources and systems. What many do lack, however, is a secure, simple way to access, integrate, analyze and deliver that data so people across the organization can make informed decisions and manage risk effectively.

Generate and share reports based on real-time data faster

Vertikal empowers your company’s staff to turn data into appropriate action in an instant with improved dashboards and reporting features that are easy for anyone to use. And you can still control who gets to access what with customizable security for sensitive data.

  • Agile and responsive access to real-time data
  • Fast display of metrics and reports
  • Visualized charts and graphs

 

Enhanced features for simple, secure reporting

Vertikal’s reporting tool enables teams to build dashboards and process reports easily—no technical skills or coding knowledge required. Employees can configure, generate and share reports quickly and securely with each other, clients, business partners and regulatory agencies. Extensive data governance, data- and field-level security, and group and role-based security options are built in.

Employees throughout an organization can use Vertikal’s enhanced data export and reporting features to help the company effectively manage the insurance, financial and safety requirements of your business ecosystem. Generate and share more thorough, timely reports faster:

  • Export key vendor, supplier and client information from ERP, RMIS, A/P, contract management and other systems
  • Generate dynamic ad-hoc reports backed by real-time data
  • Visualize compliance data to pinpoint and assess risk proactively
  • Demonstrate compliance for more advantageous insurance terms
  • Generate standard and uniquely configured reports (scheduled and exportable)
  • Set up custom KPIs and analytics

 

About Vertikal

Vertikal provides certificates of insurance and prequalification solutions that help your organization rise above risk. We work hard to stay ahead and develop cutting-edge technological solutions and services that help you move beyond reactivity toward a more strategic level of risk management. Vertikal streamlines and automates even your most complex, labor-intensive risk management processes with flexible, intuitive, secure reporting systems that are easy to use.

Contact us to learn more about how Vertikal will make your risk management strategy more successful.

RELATED: Tools to Take Control of Post-Pandemic Risk Management, Reduce Subcontractor Risk, CertFocus Empowers Organizations To Achieve Compliance At Any Scale

New and improved reporting tool- coming soon

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Share Actionable Data Seamlessly with Vertikal’s Improved Reporting Tool – Coming Soon

Your business may have hundreds of connections to different technology platforms, feeding you valuable business intelligence (BI) about your vendors, suppliers, and third-party contractors. As a result, your incoming data sets need the required integrations into your systems and processes. Empowering more people in your organization to connect with your information assets no matter where they’re hosted is critical to ensuring successful risk management.

Now, with Vertikal’s improved reporting tool, our clients gain enhanced data reporting features that empower your risk management capabilities even more. Whether your users need to export critical vendor information, generate dynamic ad-hoc reports, or visualize data related to where they may have gaps in compliance, Vertikal empowers your staff to turn data into appropriate action instantly. That’s the power we deliver with Vertikal’s improved reporting tool — coming to users in August of this year.

Vertikal uses an API-led approach to simplify the integration process that makes hundreds of connections to your technologies and required endpoints. In this way, Vertikal’s business intelligence platform allows your team to access, integrate and report data from multiple systems. From enterprise resource planning (ERP) and risk management information systems (RMIS) to accounts payable (A/P), contract management, and everything in between, you can rely on Vertikal’s open design to provide the hub that connects it all.

Put BI Data on Your Side

Vertikal provides an agile approach to dashboards and reports, so even less technically focused team members can easily pull and use data. Internal stakeholders can now build reports and dashboards without code, and easily, quickly, and securely share these with clients and partners.

We are thrilled to announce these improvements so our clients can demonstrate and manage compliance thoroughly with statistics and data visualization about their compliance tracking. That is an integral part of negotiating their insurance rates and contributes to savings on premiums.

In summary, our improved data reporting tool enables your teams to implement actionable BI data with your business systems and platforms to deliver greater operational intelligence. In addition, our enhanced analytics capabilities also deliver improved staff efficiency and productivity.

Implement Robust New Features

The improved automation and outreach capabilities in our improved reporting tool center on three key components:

Ease of use: Our improved reporting tool is accessible to everyone, providing an agile, self-service platform requiring no coding knowledge.

A complete platform: The platform includes data visualization, web dashboards, data export, and data level security. Vertikal provides the full package of robust BI and reporting tools that our clients need.

Data security: Whenever internal stakeholders build reports and dashboards without code, they can quickly and securely share these with clients and partners. Our improved reporting tool includes extensive data governance and security, data and field level security, group and role-based security, and all the flexibility our customers need.

 

About Vertikal

Vertikal provides certificates of insurance and prequalification solutions that help your organization rise above risk. We work hard to stay ahead and develop cutting-edge technological solutions and services that help you move beyond reactivity toward a more strategic level of risk management. Vertikal streamlines and automates even your most complex, labor-intensive risk management processes with flexible, intuitive, secure reporting systems that are easy to use.

Contact us to learn more about how Vertikal will make your risk management strategy more successful.

RELATED: Better Reporting Tool For Stronger Risk Management, Simplify Subcontractor and Vendor Relationships, Reduce Subcontractor Risk, Vertikal Helps Contractors Rise Above Risk

 

 

We’re Sorry We Missed You at CFMA’s Annual Conference and Exhibition, May 2022 in Atlanta, GA

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The Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) Annual Conference and Exhibition took place on May 14th – 18th in Atlanta, GA at the Hyatt Regency. The CFMA has a longstanding reputation as the sole organization dedicated to providing financial professionals with unparalleled career development and networking opportunities.

The event delivered a great opportunity for construction financial professionals to become even better at what they do by attending sessions offering introduction level courses for those new to the industry, and also advanced courses to keep those with a bit more experience fully engaged. The event featured something for everyone.

2022 CFMA Conference and Exhibition in Atlanta, GA

About Vertikal

Vertikal provides certificate of insurance and pre-qualification solutions that help your organization rise above risk. Vertikal streamlines and automates even your most complex, labor-intensive risk management processes with flexible, intuitive, secure reporting systems that are easy to use.

This year, our Vice President of Sales, Allison Shearer and other members of the Vertikal team met with a large number of risk management and other professionals at the various CFMA conference events and inside our Vertikal booth. Allison is an experienced sales executive with documented successes in certificate of insurance management, third party pre-qualification services and business process automation disciplines.

In case you were unable to attend, we are so sorry to have missed you. Below are some of the insights that Vertikal’s Vice President, Allison Shearer, and her team shared with visitors to Vertikal’s booth at the CFMA Conference and Exhibition.

How can you hold your vendors, suppliers and third-party contractors to a higher standard?

Vertikal helps you understand the risk that the vendor, supplier and third-party contractor brings to your business, and presents you with risk ratings and scores to help you understand whether or not you should be working with the subcontractor. Vertikal also gives you the flexibility to choose from full-service or self-service options. Plus, you gain the opportunity to collaborate with industry-certified experts on challenging issues.

 

How can Vertikal help reduce the time, cost and effort it takes to manage your complex vendor relationships?

Our user-friendly solutions and expert support provide you with everything you need to increase transparency across your vendor, supplier and contractor relationships.

What are the latest updates on Vertikal’s solutions, including CertFocus, PreQual and ShieldCor?

  • CertFocus delivers a dynamic Certificate of Insurance (COI) tracking software that leverages Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and machine learning technologies to help organize, simplify and monitor subcontractor COI tracking and compliance.
  • PreQual combines dynamic software with expert financial analysis to bring a new level of transparency to your outside business relationships without disrupting your existing processes and workflows.
  • ShieldCor helps you spot new opportunities and deeper risk insights to optimize your operational infrastructure, so you can base key decisions on timely, accurate and reliable information.

 

Vertikal delivers the tools organizations need to rise above risk and adapt to a rapidly transforming world. We work hard to stay ahead and develop cutting edge technological solutions and services that help you move beyond reactivity towards a more strategic level of risk management.

Contact us to learn more about how Vertikal will make your risk management strategy more successful.

RELATED: Reasons to Connect with Vertikal at CAPPO, Highlights 2022 RIMS Conference, Reasons to visit the Vertikal booth

 

 

CertFocus Pleased to Announce the Hiring of CTO Sidney Fein

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CertFocus is very pleased to announce the hiring of Sidney (Sid) Fein in the Chief Technology Officer role. A highly skilled, results-driven transformation leader, Sid is an adept value-creator and a welcomed addition to the CertFocus executive team.

In bringing Sid on board, CertFocus has invested in a CTO that will enhance our software. He brings extensive technology skills in Application Development, Infrastructure, Cloud Computing, Data Management and Security to his new role. Sid will implement new features and functionality, fuel additional services and increase the efficiency of operations for our valued clients.

Technology powers the CertFocus service, and Sid will help improve and enable new tech. Sid’s focus will be on accelerating product development, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of our services for our clients, and enhancing our integration capabilities. Finally, Sid  will be working on enhancing the CertFocus business intelligence offerings to deliver real-time, actionable data to our valued clients, and pursuing new relationships with vendors to develop strategic technology partnerships.

“We owe it to our customers to bring on a demonstrated leader with the unequivocal technology expertise and proven accomplishments that Sid brings to our company,” says CertFocus CEO Joseph V. Sforzo of hiring Sidney Fein. “With Sid as a key executive in our company, our customers will see tremendous dividends.”

Prior to joining CertFocus, Sid was at LifeMed Media, where he built co-branded world- class SaaS solutions for major business partners such as Aetna, Humana and Bayer. His 25 years of experience and knowledge in development database admin, infrastructure operations, security, quality control, and hands-on all-in testing is remarkable.

With an Executive MBA from Hofstra and an undergraduate degree from NYU Stern, Sid’s experience in implementing new product features make him a powerful addition to the CertFocus team.

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CertFocus Empowers Organizations To Achieve Compliance At Any Scale

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As a Risk Manager and an insurance expert, you understand the importance of Certificate of Insurance Compliance to your risk transfer process. Therefore, the services you seek from a COI management provider need to be more comprehensive than those that simply point out a problem, without offering sound service solutions.

The services provided by basic COI tracking companies may help identify compliance deficiencies, but on its own, most COI tracking companies lack the solution-based approach that most businesses require. The complexities involved in fixing a compliance issue can be extremely time-consuming, costly and challenging. The industry insight and insurance knowledge required to help achieve proper COI Compliance only comes from experienced insurance professionals. With a nearly 99% customer retention rate, CertFocus has proven time and time again that we have the people, tools, and knowledge to consistently support a diverse range of organizations. CertFocus is not a COI tracking company, we are a COI compliance service.  There is a tremendous difference between our business model and the rest of the industry.

Our goal is to be more than just a vendor; we want to be an extension of your risk management department- a true partner. Our long-standing track record of excellence supported by the industry’s most dynamic customer service- for insurance professionals, by insurance professionals. That might be one reason why over 60% of our current customers came to us after trying other services. Organizations soon realize that other providers in our industry offer basic non-responsive cookie cutter approaches, with lackluster service, and limited resources that end up wasting time and money.

That is just one reason why we provide a dedicated CIC, CISR, CPCU, and CRIS certified account manager for each of our customers. These team members are trained to help solve any problems that may arise. Other companies stop at COI tracking, but that is where CertFocus begins.

Whether you are a mature and robust corporation or a quickly growing business, you can’t afford to let your COI tracking vendor’s poor results and service turn your risk transfer program into a rotting cavity. CertFocus sets the standard in the COI compliance industry because we solve problems, put people first, and use our expertise to help you rest easy.

 

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Trust in CertFocus to Ensure Insurance Compliance

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Trust is a vital ingredient for any successful business partnership. And while it would be great if we only ever had to trust that others were doing the right thing, there are vital elements that must exist for trust to develop; superior customer service, dependability, and results. CertFocus strives to become a valued and trusted partner for all their customers by delivering the highest levels of compliance in the Certificate of Insurance (COI) Management Industry. In equity partnership with the Insurance Services Office (now part of the Verisk Analytics Family of Companies), CertFocus offers our clients a COI management solution designed to deliver the most flexible, accurate, and reliable results in the industry. This is why, when it comes to ensuring certificate of insurance compliance from vendors, subcontractors, suppliers, tenants, and franchises, CertFocus sets the industry standard.

As a fully flexible service designed by insurance professionals for insurance professionals, our service is customer service focused and is supported by software, rather than simply being like most other providers in our industry, a basic COI software tracking technology. Therefore, by focusing on being a service first, CertFocus is able to work with each customer to design and develop a fully customized compliance platform to ensure that your specific needs are being met. We are proud of the fact that our 180+ customers receive tremendous value from our solution, and benefit from over 90+% COI compliance. With a strong U.S.-based infrastructure, flexible service solutions, and most importantly CIC, CRIS, CISR and CPCU credentialed account managers dedicated to helping you, CertFocus delivers the most comprehensive COI management solution in the industry.

With CertFocus, you have a trustworthy partner who can ensure compliance from your vendors, and provide you with significant savings through economies of scale. CertFocus frees up your valuable time and resources, allowing you to focus on managing the process while CertFocus does all the heavy lifting. CertFocus provides you with ad hoc reporting and by being SaaS-based, is accessible from any device, integrating with most all AP, Single Sign-on, SAP, PeopleSoft, JDE, Oracle and many other third-party systems. You will appreciate our permission-based user privileges and the fact that our flexible infrastructure allows for unlimited hierarchies, and the assurance of unlimited requirement sets.

When you need to ensure vendor, subcontractor, supplier, tenant, and franchisee compliance, CertFocus is there to be your trusted partner and to provide the highest level of compliance and the most robust service possible in the Certificate of Insurance Industry. CertFocus works with each customer to design and develop the customized compliance platform they need to ensure their specific needs are being met. We are more than a software- it is our people behind the solution who are there to get you results. We continue to make significant investments into our people and our world class operations infrastructure- and as a result, into our customers- that no other provider can possibly match.

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