The Two Insurance Certificates Your Building Will Demand (and Why the Cheap Bid Skipped Them)

Before any crew touches a floor in a Manhattan co-op or condo, the managing agent asks for two documents. We send them so often we can do it in our sleep, and the way a contractor responds to this request tells you most of what you need to know about them.

The COI

A certificate of insurance for general liability, naming the building corporation and the managing agent (sometimes others too) as additional insureds.

Typical required limits are one million per occurrence and two million aggregate; some white-glove buildings want a five million umbrella on top. This is what responds if a sander goes through a wall or a worker floods the apartment below.

The Workers’ Comp Certificate

Proof that everyone on the crew is covered if they’re injured on the job. New York takes this seriously and so do buildings: no WC certificate, no access past the lobby.

It also protects you. When an uninsured worker gets hurt in your unit, the search for a responsible party starts close to home, and you don’t want your name in that conversation.

We’re flooring people, not lawyers, so ask one about your specific exposure. The practical rule is simple either way: never let an uninsured crew work in your home.

Why the Cheap Bid Is Cheap

Workers’ compensation premiums for flooring installers are a real, recurring cost, and so is proper liability coverage.

A crew that carries neither can underbid an insured one by a wide margin. That discount is risk, moved quietly onto you and your neighbors.

How to Check

Ask every bidder for both certificates before you sign, made out with your building’s required additional insureds.

An established contractor’s office produces them the same day without friction. Hesitation, excuses, and “we can get that” are answers too.

Our certificates go out the same day your managing agent requests them, and our install crews have worked under NYC alteration agreements for over fifteen years. If your building has an unusual requirement, send it over. Odds are we’ve already