"We're fully insured" shows up in almost every security company's sales pitch, right next to "we're fully licensed." Both statements are easy to say and, unlike licensing, insurance coverage isn't something you can look up yourself on a state regulator's website. The only way to actually verify it is to ask for the document and read it — and how a provider responds to that request tells you almost as much as the document itself.
Ask for the certificate, not the assurance
A Certificate of Insurance (COI) is a short document your insurance broker or risk manager can read in under a minute: carrier name, policy number, coverage types, limits, and effective dates. It's issued directly by the provider's insurance carrier or broker, which is exactly what makes it verifiable — a broker can call the carrier and confirm the policy is real and active. A verbal "we're covered" gives you nothing to check. If a provider hesitates, delays, or gets vague when you ask for a current COI, treat that the same way you'd treat a vague answer about background checks: as information in itself, not an administrative hiccup. See our Insurance & COI page for what we carry and how to request one.
Know what you're actually looking at
Two coverage types matter most for a guard services contract. General liability covers claims arising from the provider's operations on your property — the kind of coverage that matters if an incident is ever disputed. Workers' compensation covers the provider's own employees if an officer is injured on the job, which protects you from being pulled into a workers' comp claim that should never have touched your business in the first place. A provider should be able to speak to both without prompting, not just one.
Additional insured status is what actually protects you
Carrying insurance and naming your organization as an additional insured are two different things, and the difference matters. Additional insured status extends a layer of the provider's coverage to your organization for claims arising from their work on your property — it's a standard ask for commercial contracts, GC subcontractor requirements, and HOA vendor onboarding alike, and a provider that does this routinely won't blink at the request. If a provider treats naming you as additional insured as unusual or difficult, that's worth noticing before you sign, not after an incident.
Coverage should connect to the rest of the operating standard, not stand alone
Insurance isn't a box that exists separately from how a provider actually operates. It connects to the same standards documented everywhere else on a serious provider's site: a real officer screening standard, a documented safety and claims record, and current state licensing. A provider with thin insurance, no visible safety record, and vague licensing answers is telling you the same thing three different ways. A provider that can produce all three without hesitation is telling you something too.
What to ask before you sign
Four questions, asked directly: What are your general liability and workers' compensation coverage limits? Can you name our organization as additional insured on the policy? How quickly can you produce a current COI? And has a claim ever been filed against your coverage — and if so, what happened? A provider with a clean answer to all four isn't hiding anything. A provider that can't answer quickly is asking you to take the rest of their pitch on faith too.
Need a current Certificate of Insurance for a bid deadline or vendor pre-qualification? Request one as part of any proposal or onboarding package.
– Sgt. Hammy