Start with the work, then read the promise. Identify who must carry insurance, what the agreement asks for, which evidence is missing and who can decide an exception.
Five checks before you accept wording
- Describe the work and the parties.
Note who supplies the service, where it happens, and whether people, premises, systems, advice or customer data are involved. A contract title alone cannot settle those facts.
- Keep every part of the requirement together.
Record insurance type, responsible party, amount, currency, limit basis, period, special conditions and referenced schedules. Missing schedules stay unresolved.
- Read the related promises.
Check indemnity, liability caps, exceptions and any requirement that survives the agreement. Flag conflicting wording for the responsible contract reviewer.
- Ask for relevant evidence.
Match documents to the exact entity, policy and dates. A certificate summary and a policy endorsement have different roles; neither a familiar filename nor a larger number proves the requested protection.
- Assign the next decision.
Separate a request for information from an agreed wording change or an authorized business exception. Record the owner, reason and next review date.
A fictional vendor review
“Example Studio will maintain commercial general liability insurance of $5 million per occurrence for the services.”
The statement of work describes remote design advice. A separate paragraph says that Example Studio will install equipment at the customer's premises.
- What is known?
- The written promise names a party, an insurance type, an amount and a basis.
- What changes the review?
- Whether on site installation is actually part of the work. The remote work description does not erase the installation promise.
- What happens next?
- The service owner confirms the scope. The contract reviewer reconciles the conflicting wording; the broker addresses relevant insurance evidence.
A useful question to send
“Our scope summary describes remote advice, but section 4 also requires installation at your premises. Please confirm which activities are intended so that we can review the insurance requirement against the same scope.”
This original example is a clarification request, not approved contract wording.
What the checklist cannot decide
It cannot establish which insurance is available, whether a policy responds, whether a legal clause is enforceable or whether an amount is proportionate. Those conclusions need the relevant facts and appropriate professional judgment.
Read next
What a certificate shows. Insurance limits and liability caps
Prepared by InsureClause as an original educational checklist. No jurisdiction specific legal conclusion or independent expert approval is claimed. The example is fictional and does not set a recommended insurance amount.