July’s Compliance Coffee Talk: Setting the Right Insurance Requirements

Compliance Coffee Talk covers a new topic each month – RSVP for the series.

“How should I set our organization’s insurance requirements?” 

This is one of the top questions we hear at events, meetups, and customer visits. We hosted a short, tactical session with a couple of customer experts to walk through their approach to setting coverage types and limits, key types of endorsements, AM Best ratings, and more. 

Watch the full session replay below, and keep scrolling for expert insights and practical strategies on setting the right insurance requirements for your organization.

Meet the Experts

• Noelle McCall, Director of Contract Risk Management at ​​​​​Peoples First Insurance & Co-founder at Contract Risk Academy
• Thor Benzing, Risk Manager at California Intergovernmental Risk Authority

You’ll learn:

• How frequently you should update your insurance requirements
• Factors beyond project value that influence coverage decisions
• Why endorsements are critical for true coverage
• How insurance carrier standards can help manage vendor pushback
• The importance of ongoing verification and tracking
• Holistic strategies for mitigating risks beyond insurance alone

Key Takeaways

1. Regularly update your insurance requirements.

Insurance requirements aren’t static and should be revisited at least every 3-5 years to ensure alignment with current risks and coverage options.

“At a bare minimum, you should update your insurance requirements at least every 3 to 5 years; if it’s been longer than that, definitely get them updated. Also, if they were written by someone who is not an insurance expert, you want to get them updated because things change in insurance.” — Noelle McCall, Peoples First Insurance & Contract Risk Academy

2. Align limits with actual risk exposure, not just contract size.

Choosing appropriate insurance limits depends on the nature and scope of the project, not just contract size, because even smaller projects can carry significant risks.

“Project value does have an impact on insurance requirements, but you can’t only look at that. More importantly, consider the scope of work and specific risk exposures involved, because some of the smallest dollar-value projects could have the biggest losses.”
— Noelle McCall, Peoples First Insurance & Contract Risk Academy

3. Endorsements are critical, NOT optional.

Certificates alone aren’t enough. Always request and verify Additional Insured, Primary and Non-Contributory, and Waiver of Subrogation endorsements to ensure real protection.

“It is so important to get copies of the endorsements because just looking at a certificate of insurance is not sufficient. Certificates have disclaimers saying they’re not part of the policy on the Accord form, so you need to review endorsements like Additional Insured, Primary and Non-Contributory, and Waiver of Subrogation to ensure you truly have the necessary coverage. Just because it says it on a certificate doesn’t mean you have the coverage, and there are different levels of coverage provided by additional insured coverage.”
— Noelle McCall, Peoples First Insurance & Contract Risk Academy

4. Insurance carriers set useful standards – use them.

Insurance carriers’ minimum requirements can guide conversations with vendors who push back, facilitating smoother negotiations and compliance with critical risk standards.

“Insurance carriers typically have minimum coverage thresholds and limits they require, and certain endorsements such as Additional Insured, Primary and Non-Contributory, and Waiver of Subrogation. Clearly communicating these carrier-driven standards helps justify your requirements.”
— Noelle McCall, Peoples First Insurance & Contract Risk Academy

5. Proactive tracking and verification mitigate long-term risk.

Effective risk management involves consistently verifying insurance coverages and documenting endorsements throughout the duration of a project and even after it concludes.

“A vendor’s error led to a $600,000 loss, but because the city had all of their documents and endorsement in order, their costs were limited to $2,000 in legal fees. That’s how critical it is to proactively manage and verify coverages.” — Thor Benzing, California Intergovernmental Risk Authority

6. Go beyond insurance, manage risk holistically

Mitigate risk through active vendor engagement, training, risk assessments, and support beyond just insurance policies, especially with vendors that struggle to meet requirements.

“We worked with a local women’s club that couldn’t meet insurance requirements for a community event without it being cost prohibitive. The city actively helped secure affordable coverage, provided safety training, and implemented proactive controls. So they help mitigate the risk not just through insurance, but through actual active policies, procedures, and actually engaging with the club. ”
— Thor Benzing, California Intergovernmental Risk Authority