Your broker or insurance company issues it, and a standard one should not cost you anything. A certificate of insurance is a one page summary of your policies, limits, and dates, and a charge for it is unusual. Morrow clients issue their own online in about a minute, any hour, any day, at no charge. Only a policy change (called an endorsement) runs through the broker. Who this is for: tile, stone, and shower installers who need proof of insurance for a builder, a designer, or a condo building.
The short version
- Only your broker or insurance company can issue it, and a standard one should not cost you.
- Morrow tile clients issue their own online in about a minute, day or night.
- Buildings want the certificate on file before you get dock and elevator access.
- Shower leaks show up years later, so customers check that cover keeps running after the job.
- Naming someone on the policy itself is a change, not a certificate. Allow a few days.
Who asks a tile installer for proof of insurance?
Tile work happens in finished space, in wet rooms, and inside occupied buildings. Everyone in that chain wants paper first.
| Who asks | What they want | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Builder or general contractor | Proof before you start, plus the endorsement pages | Once per contract |
| Condo board or building manager | The association and the management company both named, before dock and elevator access | Each building, each year |
| Designer or remodeler | A certificate naming their firm and the homeowner | Per project |
| Stone yard or slab supplier | Proof before they load a slab onto your trailer | Each account |
| Store install program | Exact limits, filed in a system that checks you automatically | Every year |
Not sure who goes in which box? See certificate holder compared with being added to the policy.
What does a tile certificate need to show?
These are the usual asks for residential and light commercial tile. Your own contract controls.
| Policy | Common requirement | Why it matters for tile |
|---|---|---|
| General liability | $1,000,000 for one incident and $2,000,000 for the year, often $2,000,000 in towers | Wet saw water on finished floors, a cracked slab in the elevator, damage to a neighbor's unit |
| Cover after the job ends | Your customer stays protected once you leave | A leaking shower pan can flood the unit below two years later |
| Workers comp | What your state requires, plus the part that pays if a worker sues you, commonly $100,000 each accident, $500,000 policy limit for disease, and $100,000 each employee for disease. Contracts often ask that all three go to $500,000 or $1,000,000 | Heavy slabs, kneeling work, saws, and silica dust from cutting |
| Commercial auto | $1,000,000 combined | Trucks and trailers hauling stone, plus vehicles your crew drives |
| Cover for property in your care | Asked for by some buildings and stone yards | Your liability policy excludes damage to property in your care, so a slab you are holding is not covered |
Two notes. Cover for property in your care is a separate policy your broker can quote, and buildings and stone yards often set the limit. And the state funds in North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, and Wyoming pay nothing when a worker sues, so ask about stop gap coverage there.
Why do condo buildings hold up my start date?
Because management will not open the dock or the service elevator until your certificate is on file, and the wording has to be exact. They usually want the association and the management company both named, often at a higher limit than a house job.
The names are a copy job you can do yourself in a minute. Naming the association on your policy is a change, so ask a few days before you need the elevator. Put the unit number in the notes box too. That box describes coverage, it does not add any.
What can I issue myself, and what needs my broker?
| You can do this in a minute | This needs your broker first |
|---|---|
| Add a new certificate holder name and address | Adding a builder, association, or owner to your policy so they can use it if sued |
| Type the unit or address in the description box | Keeping that protection alive after the job is finished |
| Reissue at renewal for a building you work in | Your insurer agreeing not to chase your customer for money it paid |
| Send a copy to a designer or manager | Raising a limit to $2,000,000 or adding an umbrella |
What does a tile certificate cost?
Nothing, in almost every case. The changes behind one can cost money. These figures are illustrative for a small tile shop.
- Adding a customer to your liability policy: often free with automatic wording, otherwise about $50 to $300 each.
- Your insurer agreeing not to chase your customer on a workers comp claim: usually 2 to 5 percent of the workers comp premium for that job, an illustrative range that varies by insurer and state. A few states use their own form or restrict it, and in the four state fund states it goes through the fund.
- Raising liability to $2,000,000 for one incident: often 10 to 25 percent more than your current liability price.
See also who issues certificates for free.
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 three person tile crew in Massachusetts books a master bath in a downtown condo tower. The manager wants a certificate naming the association and the management firm, at $2,000,000.
What went wrong: The crew sends the certificate they use for houses. It shows $1,000,000 and names only the homeowner. Management refuses dock access, and the higher limit takes the insurer two days.
What it cost: Three lost days for three people, about $3,200 in wages, and the homeowner pushed the plumber back a week.
The fix: Ask the building for its wording the day you book. The names go on the certificate in a minute. The higher limit is a policy change, so it needs lead time.
Frequently asked questions
Q: How can I get a free, instant certificate of insurance for my tile installation business?
Only the broker or insurance company that holds your policy can issue one. With online access you type in the building name and download it in about a minute. Morrow clients do this at no charge, at any hour.
Q: Should a tile contractor ever pay for one?
No, not for a standard certificate. It is routine service on a policy you already bought. Being charged is a fair reason to shop your account.
Q: Can I type up my own and send it?
No. It has to come from your broker or insurer. Building managers check, and creating one yourself can be treated as fraud.
Q: The building wants the association named. Can that happen today?
The name can go on the certificate today. Putting the association on the policy itself is a change that takes one to three business days. It takes effect the day the insurer issues it and does not reach back, so a party added Wednesday is not covered for Monday. Permission to start early does not create coverage.
Q: Why do customers care about cover after the tile is set?
Because shower leaks are slow. A failed pan can soak the unit below a year or two after you finish, and owners want your policy to still protect them.
Q: What if I crack the homeowner's slab before it is installed?
Your liability policy excludes damage to property in your care, custody, or control, so a slab you are holding is not covered by it. That comes from a separate policy on goods in your care, which your broker can quote.
How Morrow helps
Morrow is a licensed independent commercial insurance brokerage that works with contractors and trades every day. Tile crews lose start dates at the loading dock over certificate wording, and getting that paper right and instant is the part we handle.
- 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.