Most companies track certificates without ever writing down what they require. The result: each manager asks for different limits, nobody enforces anything, and the first time a claim lands, there is no policy to point to. A written vendor insurance policy fixes all three.
Start with the coverage schedule. For each category of vendor — general contractors, trades, janitorial, transportation — state the required coverage types, minimum limits, and whether additional insured is required. Publish it as part of your vendor agreement.
Then set the process rules: certificates due before work begins, renewal reminders automatic, suspension of work if coverage lapses, and who reviews exceptions. Rules without enforcement are decoration; the enforcement is in the system that tracks and flags.
Finally, make it measurable. A policy that is followed shows up as a clean compliance dashboard: zero expired certificates, zero uninsured active vendors. If your policy cannot be measured that way, it is not being followed.
COIFort encodes the whole policy — coverage schedule, verification, reminders, suspension flags — so the document and the enforcement are the same thing.