According to IIABA, there are three major recurring problems involving certificates of insurance:

o The unwillingness of insurers to provide notice to certificate holders of cancellation, despite the "we will endeavor to" language in most certificates of insurance.

o Onerous insurance requirements by large contactors, huge corporations, governmental/public entities, etc. that cannot be met by coverages typically available in the admitted marketplace.

o Certificate fraud by agents and insureds (including the indication of coverages or conditions that don't exist) so an insured subcontractor can get a construction job or get paid for one.

The new VU white paper addresses these and related issues, providing analyses of the problems and insights to help agents and brokers deal with them, said IIABA.

"This new paper is an extremely useful and educational resource for agents and brokers," says Madelyn Flannagan, IIABA vice president for education and research. "We are very excited to offer this resource both to our members and to any interested parties, because this is an important issue and clearly will continue to be in the coming months and years."

The paper is available free to IIABA members and paid VU subscribers, and, for a $75 fee, to nonmembers and nonsubscribers, the group noted.