Use a broker who lets you issue your own certificates online, instead of emailing a request and waiting. A certificate of insurance is a one page summary of your policies, limits, and dates, and a property manager wants one before your crew goes on the roof. Morrow clients log in and send one in about a minute, any hour, any day, at no charge. Changes to the policy itself still go through your broker. Who this is for: heating and cooling contractors who need proof of insurance before the crew starts.
The short version
- A heating and cooling certificate usually shows general liability, workers comp, commercial auto, and an umbrella.
- Property managers, builders, homeowners, school districts, and utility rebate programs all ask for one.
- Morrow clients make their own certificates online in about a minute, at night or on a weekend, at no charge.
- Fumes, refrigerant, and mold can all fall outside a liability policy, so some contracts ask for pollution cover too.
What does a heating and cooling certificate have to show?
Four policies cover most requests. A fifth turns up on hospital and school work.
| Policy | What it covers | Limit customers usually ask for |
|---|---|---|
| General liability | Fire, water, and damage from a unit, flue, or line you installed | $1,000,000 for one incident and $2,000,000 for the year |
| Workers comp | Roof falls, burns, and lifting injuries that hurt your employees | Whatever your state requires, plus three limits for employee suits, commonly $100,000 each accident, $500,000 for disease in a policy year, and $100,000 for disease per employee. Contracts often ask for all three at $500,000 or $1,000,000 |
| Commercial auto | Service vans, box trucks, and trailers | $1,000,000 for each accident |
| Umbrella | A second layer above your liability and auto limits | $1,000,000 on houses, $2,000,000 to $5,000,000 on schools and hospitals |
| Contractors pollution | Carbon monoxide, refrigerant leaks, and mold from a blocked drain | $1,000,000 when asked |
One state note. In North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, and Wyoming, workers comp comes from the state fund, and fund policies pay nothing when an employee sues. Ask your broker for stop gap cover, which fills that hole.
Who asks a heating and cooling contractor for a certificate?
- Property managers, before your crew goes up.
- Builders and general contractors, through a portal.
- Homeowners, on changeouts, and some permit desks.
- Utility rebate programs, before they list you.
- Schools and hospitals, with their own forms and limits.
Why do these contracts ask about fumes and refrigerant?
Because what goes wrong on your work is often a gas, not a broken part. A flue joined wrong pushes carbon monoxide into a bedroom. A line set leaks refrigerant into an office. A blocked drain grows mold behind a wall.
Carbon monoxide and refrigerant are treated as pollution. The standard liability form prints a few give backs of its own, so some fume claims inside a building you are working in do come back, unless your insurer added a total pollution exclusion that deletes them. Mold is a different page again, a separate fungi or bacteria exclusion that almost every contractor policy carries. That is why hospital and school contracts ask for a separate pollution policy that names all three.
What extra wording do these contracts ask for?
| What the contract asks for | What it means | How it gets there |
|---|---|---|
| Additional insured | Your customer can use your liability policy if they get sued because of your work | Blanket wording (CG 20 33) adds the customer you signed the contract with, for work in progress, when the contract required it in writing before the loss. It does not reach the owner, the lender, or the architect above your customer. A broader blanket form (CG 20 38) can reach them, but it leaves out coverage after the job is finished |
| Coverage after the job ends | It keeps going once the work is finished, when a flue or a leak is noticed | A scheduled change (CG 20 37). Carriers make blanket versions by typing that wording into its schedule, or on their own form |
| Your policy pays first | Your policy pays first and your customer's does not chip in | Its own added line (CG 20 01), not a line inside the form above |
| No claim against your customer | Your insurer agrees not to go after your customer for its money back | One change on liability (CG 24 04) and another on workers comp (WC 00 03 13) |
Typing extra names into the description box adds nobody to your policy. The change has to be on the policy first.
How do I issue one myself in about a minute?
- Log in from the van.
- Pick the policies the contract lists.
- Type your customer's legal name exactly as the contract spells it.
- Add the building address and the work.
- Email it or upload it.
No charge, and no wait for Monday, which is what a Saturday rooftop call needs. See certificates after hours and what these contractors insure.
What still has to go through my broker?
- Naming a customer your policy does not already pick up.
- Raising a limit or adding an umbrella for one contract.
- Adding a waiver on workers comp, which some states handle their own way.
- Adding pollution cover for fumes, refrigerant, and mold.
You get a reply usually within the hour on business days. Insurers almost never backdate. A change added today does nothing for something that already went wrong, and a customer saying you can start does not create coverage for the gap.
What this looks like in real life
Illustrative example. It is typical of what we see and is not a promise of how any specific situation would be handled.
The setup: A heating and cooling company in Texas gets a Saturday call from a property manager. A rooftop unit is down at a medical office, it is 101 degrees out, and the changeout is worth about $18,400.
What went wrong: The manager cannot let anyone on the roof without a current certificate naming the building owner. The broker is closed until Monday, and the certificate on file expired weeks ago.
What it cost: The manager called the next shop on the list. The job went, and so did first call on six other buildings.
The fix: Nothing was wrong with the coverage. Only the paperwork was late, and a certificate issued Saturday morning would have kept the job.
Frequently asked questions
Q: How can I get a free, instant certificate of insurance for my heating and cooling business?
Use a broker whose clients issue their own. Morrow clients log in, pick the customer, and send one in about a minute, at no charge, at any hour.
Q: Do utility rebate programs need a certificate before they list me?
Most do, and they usually want to be named on it themselves, with set limits. Read the packet early, because a limit you do not carry yet takes days to arrange.
Q: Will my certificate show cover for carbon monoxide or refrigerant?
Only if you own a pollution policy. Fumes and refrigerant are treated as pollution, and mold is left out by a separate fungi or bacteria page. Tell your broker before you sign a contract that asks for them.
Q: Does a certificate of insurance cost money?
It should not. Brokers issue them at no charge as part of servicing your policy. A charge per certificate is unusual.
Q: The manager wants the building owner named as well. Is that automatic?
No. Blanket wording usually picks up only the company you signed with. Naming the owner too is a separate change your broker puts on the policy, and it cannot be added after something goes wrong.
Q: Does a homeowner or permit desk need a certificate too?
Homeowners often ask before a changeout, and some towns want a copy with the permit. It is the same one page summary, made out in their name.
How Morrow helps
Morrow is a licensed independent commercial insurance brokerage that works with contractors and trades every day. Heating and cooling contractors get certificate requests from property managers, builders, and rebate programs all season, and our clients issue every one of them themselves.
- Free contract review. Send us the contract or bid documents and we mark up the insurance section in plain English, whether or not you buy anything from us.
- Free, instant certificates. Clients issue their own certificates of insurance online in about a minute, any hour, any day, at no charge.
- Markets you cannot reach online. One application, shopped across many insurance companies for general liability, workers comp, auto, umbrella, and pollution coverage.
One more thing. This article is general information and is not legal advice or a statement of coverage. Your contract and your policy wording control in every case. Requirements vary by customer, by state, and by insurance company, so have a licensed advisor review your own contract and your own policy before relying on any of it.
Last updated: Reviewed by the Morrow commercial lines team. Last updated September 2026.