You know a contractor's public liability insurance is current when two things are true. You hold recent evidence of the policy, and today falls inside its period of insurance. That evidence is usually a certificate of currency. It confirms the policy was in force on the day it was issued. It says nothing about what happened after that day.
What does a certificate of currency actually prove?
A certificate of currency is a document issued by an insurer or broker. It confirms that a named policy was in force on the date of issue. It usually shows the insured business, the type of cover, the period of insurance and the limit of cover. It is a snapshot of one day, not a live record.
That difference matters to any property, facilities or procurement team. The period of insurance printed on a certificate is the planned term of the policy. A policy can still be cancelled or changed before that end date. The certificate does not change when that happens. A PDF on file keeps saying what it said on the day it was issued.
Why do property teams end up chasing certificates by email?
Many property and facilities teams hold contractor insurance as PDF files in a shared folder or inbox. When a certificate reaches its expiry date, someone emails the contractor and asks for a new one. Work orders for that contractor can pause until it arrives. The same loop repeats for every contractor on the panel, every year.
The email itself creates a second problem. A compliance officer opens a message from an outside sender. Their own security banner sits at the top of it. It warns them not to open attachments from senders they don't trust. They open the attachment anyway, because the process asks them to. Two PDFs. Certificates of currency.
That is the compliance process working exactly as designed. It asks staff to override their own email security training as routine admin.
What goes wrong when the email chase is the main check?
The chase finds problems late. A lapse usually surfaces at the expiry date, or when someone next opens the file. Between those points, the team assumes cover is in place because the last certificate said so. The file reflects what was sent, not what is current.
In practice that shows up in four ways:
- Lapses are noticed on a review date, not on the day cover stops.
- Each renewal costs staff time, and that cost repeats for every contractor.
- Staff open attachments from outside senders as a normal part of the job.
- The same contractor sends the same certificate to each client separately.
What should you check on a certificate of currency?
Check that the certificate names the right business and covers the right risk. Then check that today falls inside its period of insurance, and that it was issued recently. A certificate issued eleven months ago tells you less than one issued last week. These are the fields that matter most:
- Insured name. It matches the legal name of the business you engaged. Check that name against the ABN on the contract.
- Type of cover. It is public liability, not a different class of insurance.
- Limit of cover. It meets the amount your contract requires.
- Period of insurance. Today's date falls between the start and end dates.
- Date of issue. It is recent enough to rely on for the work you are approving.
- Insurer or broker details. They are present, so you can confirm the policy directly.
If anything looks wrong, contact the insurer or broker named on the certificate. They can confirm whether the policy is in force today. That call is the most direct check available to a property or procurement team.
How does Vettedmark handle public liability insurance?
Vettedmark keeps one compliance record for each contractor. The contractor uploads their public liability certificate, and the Vettedmark compliance team reviews it. Once approved, the record carries the certificate's expiry date. When that date passes, the contractor's status changes to not verified automatically. Nobody sets a status by hand.
Two limits are worth stating plainly. Both are design choices. Insurance evidence is held by the contractor and checked by people. There is no direct feed from insurers, so a policy cancelled mid-term is not detected automatically. Verification is also point-in-time. It confirms what the evidence showed when it was reviewed, not what happened afterwards.
Contractors can read how their record works on the contractor page. Property, facilities and procurement teams can book a walkthrough to see it with their own contractor list. The reasons Vettedmark stays neutral between contractors and the clients they work for are set out on the about page.
Frequently asked questions
Is a certificate of currency proof of insurance?
It is evidence that a policy was in force on the date it was issued. It does not prove the policy is still in force today. For that, ask the insurer or broker named on the certificate.
Can a public liability policy be cancelled before its end date?
Yes. A policy can be cancelled or changed during its term. A certificate issued earlier does not update when that happens. An old PDF can describe cover that no longer exists.
How often should you ask for a new certificate?
At a minimum, before the end of the period of insurance on the current certificate. It is also sensible to ask at contract start and at each contract renewal.
Does Vettedmark check insurance automatically?
No. Public liability certificates are reviewed by the Vettedmark compliance team. There is no insurer feed. What is automatic is the status change when an approved certificate reaches its expiry date.