A Closer Look at Certificate Requests

The MEARIE Group produces a high volume of Certificates of Insurance on an annual basis – over 900 and growing! The Insurance & Risk Management Services team receives daily requests through insurance@mearie.ca. The following information is intended to provide insight into the process and some helpful hints to assist when you require a certificate.

What is a Certificate of Insurance?

A certificate of insurance is a document providing evidence that certain types of insurance coverages and limits have been purchased by the party required to furnish the certificate.¹ Commonly, a vendor or organization will request proof of your insurance prior to a project commencing or coming on site. The certificate provides evidence of insurance, shows that coverage is in effect during the period required and indicates who has been added as an Additional Insured.

When might you require a Certificate of Insurance?

There’s a wide range of situations that your organization may be participating in that require you to present proof of insurance such as:

• Construction projects
• Vendor or finance agreements
• RFP / Vendor pre-qualification
• Access agreements
• Leased properties
• Locate services
• Metering services
• Oversized/long load permits
• Equipment/vehicle Lease
• Operations and maintenance
• Participation in trade shows or community events
• Street Lights/pole/equipment installation or maintenance

Common Certificate Requirements

Specific insurance clauses may be requested to be included on the certificate. It’s important to include that information on the MEARIE Certificate Request form and attach any relevant insurance requirements/contract documents. Some of the most common requests are for:

• Waiver of Subrogation – “The Municipal Electric Association Reciprocal Insurance Exchange acknowledges a waiver of subrogation rights, in favour of the Additional Insured with respect to the coverage provided by this certificate.” MEARIE cannot subrogate against the Certificate Holder in the event of a loss.
• Primary - Non-Contributory Clause – “As per MEARIE Liability policy Section 8.9 - Other Insurance clause, this policy is primary and non- contributory.” MEARIE policy is primary for the Operations of the Named Insured and does not contribute to any other insurance which may be available.

Certificate Expiry Dates

Expiry dates on certificates are provided to the end of the current policy year as policies are renewed on an annual basis. Certificates can be renewed for the following policy year beginning in December.

Do you need to provide a certificate for short- term vehicle rentals for company business?

In the case of a short-term vehicle rental (less than 30 days), rented for company business use, there is no need to have MEARIE provide a certificate as the coverage is automatically included as part of your MEARIE Liability policy - unless the rental company specifically requires proof of insurance.

(Please note: If you rent the vehicle in your name, your personal vehicle policy will be primary and provide coverage. A vehicle must be rented in the company name to be covered under the MEARIE policy.)

Do you require a Certificate of Insurance or Evidence of Insurance only? What’s the difference? 

If you are asked to provide evidence/proof that your company has insurance in place, but the vendor does not need to be named as an Additional Insured, then Evidence of Insurance is probably sufficient. 

• If you been asked to add an Additional Insured to your policy prior to a project commencing or coming on site, then you’ll need to request a Certificate of Insurance from MEARIE.
• By adding an Additional Insured, coverage is being provided to them for their vicarious liability (legal defence) of being named in a claim arising from Operations Covered under your MEARIE Liability policy. This is normally required as part of a contractual indemnification agreement.
• If you have not been asked to add an Additional Insured but have been asked to provide proof that you have coverage to a certain limit/specification, then Evidence of Insurance is sufficient. You can send the requestor a copy of your generic Certificate of Insurance that is included within your policy. This document states the Named Insured (the organization named in the policy), mailing address, policy term, coverage, limits of liability, Insurer and Additional Named Insured (any Affiliates). 

All certificate requests/inquiries should be submitted to MEARIE’s Insurance & Risk Management Services team with a completed MEARIE Certificate Request form form to insurance@mearie.ca. This mailbox is monitored by several people on the Insurance & Risk Management Services team and is the best route to ensure the certificate is produced in a timely fashion.