How to Verify a Contractor Has Valid Insurance Before Hiring

Hiring a contractor without verified insurance exposes your property, your business, and your tenants to significant liability. If an uninsured contractor causes damage or an injury occurs on site, the property manager or general contractor can be held financially responsible.

In Ontario alone, WSIB reported over 56,000 lost-time injury claims in the construction sector in 2025. Many of these incidents involved subcontractors whose coverage had lapsed without the hiring party's knowledge. The cost of a single uninsured incident can range from tens of thousands to millions of dollars — far exceeding the few minutes it takes to verify coverage upfront.

The question isn't whether to verify — it's how. Many PMs still rely on outdated methods that leave gaps. Understanding how to check if a contractor is licensed and insured is the first step toward closing those gaps.

There are three core documents you should verify before any contractor starts work on your property:

Certificate of Insurance (COI) — This confirms the contractor carries general liability insurance. Look for the policy number, the named insured (should match the contractor's legal business name), the coverage limits (minimum $2M is standard for most commercial work in Ontario), and the policy expiry date. Knowing what to look for on a certificate of insurance saves you from accepting documents that look valid but have critical gaps.

WSIB Clearance Certificate — This proves the contractor is registered with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and is in good standing. An independent operator clearance or a clearance certificate is required. Verify it's current — WSIB clearances are typically valid for 90 days.

Trade Licence or Certification — Depending on the trade, provincial or municipal licensing may be required. Electricians need an ESA licence. Plumbers need a Certificate of Qualification. General contractors in some municipalities need a business licence. Check what applies to the specific trade you're hiring.

It's a fair question — and the answer is yes, it's possible. A contractor can produce a forged or altered certificate of insurance. The document is just a PDF, and editing software is widely available. This is exactly why verifying a COI is real requires more than just glancing at the document.

To verify authenticity, check the insurer's name and policy number against the insurer's public records or call the insurer directly. Look for inconsistencies in formatting, fonts, or dates. Most importantly, use a live verification method — a credential profile that's linked to actual policy status rather than a static document.

Live credential links solve the fraud problem entirely. Instead of trusting a document the contractor created, you're checking a status that updates from verified uploads with expiry tracking. If something lapses, you see it immediately.

Use this checklist every time you bring on a new contractor or renew an existing relationship:

Step 1: Request a live proof link. Ask the contractor for their CavaIt profile link (or any live credential profile). This gives you a single URL that always shows their current status.

Step 2: Check the coverage dates. Look at the expiry dates on each credential. Are they current? If anything expires within 30 days, flag it — that's the window where most lapses happen.

Step 3: Confirm the named insured. The business name on the insurance certificate should match the legal entity you're contracting with. Mismatches are a red flag.

Step 4: Verify the coverage limits. For most commercial property work in Ontario, you want at least $2M general liability and $5M for higher-risk trades like roofing or demolition.

Step 5: Check WSIB clearance status. Confirm the clearance certificate is current (valid for 90 days) and the contractor is in good standing.

Step 6: Verify trade licensing. Confirm any required ESA, Skilled Trades Ontario, or municipal licences are valid.

Step 7: Set a reminder. Even with a live link, set a calendar reminder to re-check credentials before each new project or at the start of each quarter.

In Ontario, hiring an uninsured contractor doesn't just put the contractor at risk — it puts you at risk. If a contractor without valid insurance causes property damage, bodily injury, or a workplace accident, the liability can flow upstream to the party that hired them.

Property owners and property managers can face direct claims from injured workers, damage claims from affected third parties, WSIB penalties and surcharges, and increased insurance premiums on their own policies. In some cases, the property owner's insurer may deny coverage for the incident entirely, leaving the owner to cover costs out of pocket.

The penalty for hiring an uninsured contractor in Ontario can reach $100,000 for individuals and $500,000 for corporations. Beyond fines, the reputational damage and project delays from an uninsured incident can far exceed the original cost of the work.

This is why asking a contractor for proof of insurance isn't just good practice — it's risk management. And verifying that proof is current, not just that it exists, is where most compliance programs fall short.