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Certificates of Insurance

  1. How can I get a certificate of insurance?
  2. Is there a charge for issuing a certificate?
  3. Can I obtain a certificate online?
  4. How do I edit a certificate online?
  5. Can I add a “doing business as” or “DBA” on the certificate?
  6. Why can’t I add special wording to a certificate?
  7. Can I get a general certificate to show several vendors I have insurance?
  8. Why can’t I add more than one entity to the certificate?
  9. Can a certificate be issued for a future date or a previous year?
  10. My policy is in cancellation. Can I still get a certificate?
  11. Why was the number of cancellation notice days increased on my certificate?
  12. What is an “additional insured” endorsement? Another employer I’m working with on a project has requested one.
  13. What is a "waiver of subrogation"?
  14. What types of waivers of subrogation does State Fund offer?
  15. Is there a fee for a waiver of subrogation?
  16. How do I determine whether a blanket waiver or a specific waiver is best for me?
  17. I seldom have a written contract with a third party that has a waiver of subrogation requirement in any one year? Should I still go with a blanket waiver?
  18. Can I delete a waiver of subrogation?
  19. Why didn’t the certificate renew with the endorsements?
  20. I applied for a license and the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) is requesting a certificate. Can I get one?
  21. How can I complete my certificate renewal list?
  22. I have created a certificate, but State Fund Online does not accept the certificate holder’s address. What should I do?

  1. How can I get a certificate of insurance?

    If your policy is serviced by an insurance broker, please contact your broker to request a certificate. If you are a registered user with State Fund Online, you may click on the “Request a Certificate” link on your “Welcome” screen and create your certificates.

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  3. Is there a charge for issuing a certificate?

    No, this is a complimentary service for direct policyholders.

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  5. Can I obtain a certificate online?

    If your policy is serviced by an insurance broker, please contact your broker to request a certificate. A policyholder that has access to State Fund Online may issue a certificate online. For questions on gaining access, please contact our Customer Service Center at (888) 782-8338.

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  7. How do I edit a certificate online?

    A policyholder or broker cannot make changes to an existing certificate online. However, a certificate can be corrected and replaced or superseded online, which creates a new certificate. For assistance please contact our Customer Service Center at (888) 782-8338.

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  9. Can I add a “doing business as” or “DBA” on the certificate?

    No. State Fund cannot verify a certificate holder’s DBA, so a separate certificate would be required for each business name.

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  11. Why can’t I add special wording to a certificate?

    A certificate with special wording such as “agent”, “affiliate”, “care of”, “DBA”, “info only”, “proof”, “rep”, and “sample” will cause the certificate to be flagged for review and possibly rejected by State Fund. Special wording is ambiguous and potentially creates additional liability issues. Therefore, State Fund must ensure the certificate wording is limited to a clearly distinct and single entity.

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  13. Can I get a general certificate to show several vendors I have insurance?

    State Fund limits each certificate to one holder. You will need to request a separate certificate for each vendor.

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  15. Why can’t I add more than one entity to the certificate?

    State Fund must notify each certificate holder if the policy is cancelled. Failure to notify a certificate holder forces State Fund to assume the liability that may occur for the certificate holder. Listing multiple entities on a single certificate increases State Fund’s risk of incurring this liability.

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  17. Can a certificate be issued for a future date or a previous year?

    Yes. The Customer Service Center can assist you.

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  19. My policy is in cancellation. Can I still get a certificate?

    At your request, State Fund can issue a certificate reflecting your pending cancellation date, or process a manual certificate if your policy is being reinstated. For a cancelled policy, State Fund can issue a certificate to show proof of insurance for a specified coverage period. Contact our Customer Service Center at (888) 782-8338 to make these requests.

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  21. Why was the number of cancellation notice days increased on my certificate?

    Some certificate holders need more than the standard 10 days notice that State Fund is cancelling the policy. We will increase the number of cancellation notice days only if a policyholder makes the request.

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  23. What is an “additional insured” endorsement? Another employer I’m working with on a project has requested one.

    The additional insured endorsement adds another employer to your policy as an insured. This is used when you and the other employer might share joint liability to pay workers’ compensation to employees engaged in the same work, such as contractors working with subcontractors on the same project, where employees of both are working side by side. The premium payment remains the responsibility of the primary policyholder.

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  25. What is a "waiver of subrogation"?

    Subrogation is a legal term that means the assumption by a third party of another's legal right to collect a debt or damages. For example, subrogation occurs when an insurance company that has paid off its injured claimant takes on the legal rights the claimant has against the potentially liable third party (such as the owner of the property where the policyholder’s injured employee was working), and attempts to collect compensation from that third party.

    A waiver of subrogation policy endorsement prevents an insurance company from trying to recover those costs. In other words, if State Fund provides you a waiver of subrogation, we can't sue the person or company that caused the injuries on the claim we already paid.

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  27. What types of waivers of subrogation does State Fund offer?

    State Fund offers two types of waivers: (1) A specific waiver (Endorsement 2570) that names the third party with whom you have a contract to perform work; (2) A blanket waiver (Endorsement 2572) that does not name a third party—it applies to all the jobs where you perform work under a contract with a third party who requires a waiver of subrogation.

    Quotes issued for policies incepting on September 1, 2013, or later will include the Blanket Waiver endorsement and the related premium charge if you request the endorsement with your application.

    If the Blanket Waiver endorsement is not requested prior to the inception of your policy, it will not be added until your next renewal.

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  29. Is there a fee for a waiver of subrogation?

    There is a three percent surcharge for a specific waiver that is applied to the premium assessed on employee payroll earned while working for the certificate holder who requested the waiver. (Note: There is no charge if you have no employee payroll on that job). There is a two percent surcharge applied to your total annual policy premium for a blanket waiver.

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  31. How do I determine whether a blanket waiver or a specific waiver is best for me?

    The best way to assess whether a blanket waiver or specific waiver is best for your client is to evaluate the cost of the surcharges. Estimate what two percent of the annual premium would be, then figure out the premium associated with third parties that require a waiver. If it is less than two-thirds of two percent of your annual premium, then the specific waiver may carry less of a surcharge. You may also want to factor in the cost of requesting the specific waivers each time one is needed versus requesting the blanket option upfront—doing so may make the blanket waiver a better option.

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  33. I seldom have a written contract with a third party that has a waiver of subrogation requirement in any one year. Should I still go with a blanket waiver? 

    A blanket waiver may be the best option if you have multiple written contracts that require waivers of subrogation that cover much of your business activity in a year. It may also be a good option if you want the ease associated with one decision at the time your policy is renewed, which eliminates the need to provide segregated payroll records to the State Fund premium auditor.

    If the third party requesting the waiver wants to be specifically named and won’t accept a blanket waiver of subrogation, you can have a specific waiver endorsed to your policy. There will not be an additional surcharge for the specific waiver in this special situation as long as the blanket waiver is on the policy and the two percent premium charge has already been applied.

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  35. Can I delete a waiver of subrogation?

    No. We cannot delete a waiver of subrogation endorsement during the policy term.

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  37. Why didn’t the certificate renew with the endorsements?

    Some endorsements, such as those for a “waiver of subrogation” and “agreed payroll,” will not automatically roll over to the renewing policy year because there are surcharges that require a policyholder’s request and acceptance. Contact your State Fund representative or broker to request these endorsements.

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  39. I applied for a license and the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) is requesting a certificate. Can I get one?

    Yes. If your policy is serviced by an insurance broker, please contact your broker to request a certificate. State Fund will need your CSLB Application Fee Number to issue a certificate to the CSLB. We will also add that number to your policy until you notify us of your license number when issued by the CSLB.

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  41. How can I complete my certificate renewal list?

    You may access and review your certificate renewal list online. Discover the benefits of State Fund Online and register to access your policy and claims information.

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  43. I have created a certificate, but State Fund Online does not accept the certificate holder’s address. What should I do?

    A policyholder may save a certificate as a “draft” in this type of situation, then call the Customer Service Center at (888) 782-8338. This saves you time because State Fund will not have to create the certificate from scratch.

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