If you’re hiring independent contractors, you’re already managing a lot—onboarding, contracts, invoices, performance. But there’s one piece many hiring managers overlook until it’s too late: insurance renewals.
Whether it’s general liability, workers’ comp, or professional liability coverage, insurance policies don’t last forever. When they lapse, your company could be left exposed to risk, liability, and compliance violations.
At Bunker, we help businesses stay covered all year long—without the headache. Here’s how to make insurance renewals effortless and automatic for every contractor you work with.
1. Understand the Renewal Risk
Most contractor policies are annual, meaning the COI they give you today may expire six months into your project. Without an updated COI, you’re operating blind—and potentially uninsured.
📉 Lapsed insurance = increased liability.
In worst-case scenarios, you could be financially responsible for property damage, legal claims, or worker injuries.
✅ Tip: Always log the COI expiration date the moment it’s submitted.
2. Build Insurance Expirations Into Your Workflow
Hiring a contractor shouldn’t be a one-time checklist. Make insurance part of your project lifecycle. That means checking coverage:
- Before the project starts (valid COI required)
- Mid-project, if it crosses a renewal window
- Ongoing, for contractors working on retainer or across projects
💡 Smart Practice: Treat insurance like payroll—recurring and reviewable.
✅ Tip: Add renewal tracking into your CRM, ATS, or vendor management system.
3. Automate the Renewal Process
This is where most businesses drop the ball. Manually chasing contractors for updated COIs is time-consuming and inefficient. You shouldn’t have to send 15 emails just to confirm a renewal.
🔁 That’s where Bunker comes in.
Our platform automatically:
- Monitors COI expiration dates
- Notifies contractors before renewal deadlines
- Collects and verifies updated policies
- Alerts you if something’s missing or invalid
✅ Tip: Set it and forget it—let Bunker manage renewals in the background.
4. Ensure Coverage Aligns with Changing Projects
Let’s say you hired a contractor for design work—but now they’re also handling web development. Or they’ve moved from remote work to on-site visits.
📍 These changes could require new types of coverage—or increased policy limits.
✅ Tip: Reassess insurance requirements whenever the scope of work evolves. Ensure COIs reflect current needs, not just the original agreement.
5. Train Your Team on Insurance Basics
Hiring managers often think of insurance as a legal team issue—but it’s a core compliance function. The more your team understands the value of timely renewals, the fewer gaps you’ll have to patch.
🧠 Bunker offers resources, templates, and tools to help your hiring team get smart about COIs and risk management.
✅ Tip: Schedule a quarterly COI audit with your hiring or procurement team.
Final Thoughts:
Keeping your business protected year-round doesn’t have to be difficult. With the right system in place, renewals become automatic, reliable, and stress-free.
At Bunker, we’re here to help:
- Collect and verify COIs
- Track renewals
- Auto-notify contractors
- Keep your hiring program compliant—365 days a year
🚀 Visit buildbunker.com to see how we can help you build an insurance strategy that works as hard as your contractors do. You can also contact us at support@buildbunker.com!
✅ Quick Recap: How to Keep Insurance Up to Date Year-Round
- Log every COI’s expiration date
- Automate notifications and renewals
- Reassess coverage as work evolves
- Train your hiring team on insurance risks
- Use tools like Bunker to simplify the entire process
Common Insurance Questions from Hiring Managers—Answered!
