Meet typical COI/insurance requirements to win commercial tree service contracts

Steps

1. Confirm the tree service business carries general liability, workers' compensation, and commercial auto coverage as the baseline expected by most commercial clients.
2. Request an ACORD 25 Certificate of Liability Insurance (the industry-standard COI form) from the carrier/agent to document general liability, auto, umbrella/excess, and workers'-comp coverage in force.
3. Check the client's specific limit requirements before bidding — commercial property managers often require higher per-occurrence/aggregate limits than residential clients, and municipal or utility contracts frequently require still-higher limits.
4. If the contract requires additional-insured status, confirm the carrier has actually issued the additional-insured endorsement on the policy before the certificate is sent — a checked box on the ACORD form alone does not create coverage.
5. Compare signed contract insurance clauses against the COI's actual limits and endorsements before crews arrive on site, since a certificate only reports what already exists on the policy.