A certificate of insurance is a one-page document issued by an insurance agency that summarizes a company's active coverage — who is insured, which insurer wrote the policy, what types of coverage are in force, the policy limits, and the expiration dates. In auto transport it is how you verify a carrier's cargo and liability coverage before your car goes on a truck. The COI is issued on a standard ACORD form by the carrier's insurance agent, not by the carrier itself. That distinction matters: the agent is attesting to coverage that exists in their system. Reading one takes about 90 seconds. Here is what to check, in order:
Two practical moves. First, ask for the COI to be sent directly from the agency's email, not forwarded as a PDF by the transport company — forwarded certificates are the easiest document in this business to edit. Second, cross-check the named insured against the FMCSA SAFER lookup for that carrier's MC number and USDOT number. Active authority plus a current COI plus a matching name is a complete verification.
Certificates expire. A COI issued in March for a policy expiring in June does not cover a January shipment. Check the dates against your actual travel window, which matters especially on snowbird bookings placed months ahead. The COI is the only document that turns "we're fully insured" into something you can check. It takes one email and it is the fastest way to separate real carriers from resellers.
There is a second use, and it is the important one. If the named insured on the COI is not the company whose truck shows up, you booked through a broker. Brokers do not insure your car — the dispatched carrier does. A broker's certificate will show general liability and contingent cargo, and the name will not match the driver's door. When that happens you need the actual hauling carrier's COI, not the broker's, and you are asking for it 24 hours before pickup instead of at booking.
Baier is the carrier. Our name is on the COI, on the truck, and on your bill of lading. See about Baier for our authority details. Accepting a screenshot. The two things that make a certificate meaningful — that it came from the insurance agency and that it is current — are exactly the two things a screenshot destroys. Ask for the agency's contact information and call them. It takes two minutes and no legitimate carrier objects.
The related mistake is checking coverage after booking. Verify before you pay a deposit, because that is the point at which you still have leverage. Our red flags checklist covers what else to look for at that stage. We will send you Baier's certificate of insurance straight from our agency before you commit to anything. Owned fleet, Seabrook NH, BBB A+ rating, 250,000+ vehicles moved. Get a quote and request the COI in the same message.