A certificate of currency is a one page document from your insurer or broker confirming that a named policy was in force on a given date. It shows the insured entity, the insurer, the policy number, the type of cover, the limit and the period. Landlords, principals, clients and councils ask for it as proof before they let you trade, start work or sign. Your broker requests it from the insurer and passes it on.
What the document actually shows
Every certificate carries the same core details, whichever insurer issues it. Read them in this order:
- The insured entity, written exactly as it appears on the policy, with the ABN where the insurer includes it.
- The insurer on risk and the policy number.
- The class of cover, for example public and products liability, professional indemnity or contract works.
- The limit of liability or sum insured, and any sub limits the insurer chooses to state.
- The period of insurance, with a start and an expiry date.
- Any interested parties, such as a landlord or principal, noted on the policy.
What it does not carry is the fine print. A certificate of currency is a summary, not the policy. It says nothing about the exclusions, the excess, or whether a particular job falls inside the business description the insurer accepted. Two businesses can hold identical looking certificates and very different cover.
Who asks for one, and why
Requests come from anyone who could end up carrying your loss. Landlords ask before handing over keys and again at each lease anniversary. Head contractors will not let a trade on site without one. Councils want it attached to event and street trading permits. Corporate and government clients collect them for every supplier on the panel, often through an online portal that rejects anything expiring within the next month.
The underlying question is always the same: if this business damages something or injures someone, is there a policy behind it. That is why the requester usually checks the limit against the contract and the name against the entity they are paying.
The traffic runs both ways. If you engage trades, suppliers or cleaners, you should be collecting their certificates on the same terms your clients apply to you. A file of current documents, checked against each contract and diarised for expiry, is the cheapest piece of risk management in a small business. Chasing an uninsured subcontractor after an incident is the most expensive.
How to get one
Ask your broker or, if you deal with the insurer directly, ask the insurer. Tell them which policy you need it for, the date the requester needs it to cover, and any wording the contract demands, for example noting a principal as an interested party. Where the request is for workers compensation in Victoria, the certificate comes through the WorkSafe system rather than from a general insurer, and WorkSafe Victoria explains how the scheme and its documents work.
Give the request as much lead time as you can. Some certificates are generated instantly from an insurer portal, others need an endorsement processed first, and a request that arrives the afternoon before a site induction leaves no room if the wording has to change. Where a portal sets its own format, send us the portal requirements rather than a summary of them.
FRS issues certificates for clients as part of the service. Send the contract clause or the portal request through with your policy details and we will arrange the document in the form the requester wants, including any endorsement the insurer has to make first. Where the contract asks for something the current policy does not provide, we will tell you before it becomes an argument with your client.
Why certificates get rejected
Most rejections come down to small mismatches rather than missing cover:
- The certificate names a trading name or a director, while the contract is with a company or a trust.
- The limit is lower than the contract requires.
- The document expires inside the term of the job, or has already expired.
- The business description does not cover the work being engaged.
- The principal or landlord has not been noted, although the contract requires it.
Fix these before a job starts. Correcting an entity name mid claim is a very different conversation from correcting it at renewal, and it is one of the first things we check when a client hands us a claim that another party is disputing.
What a certificate cannot promise
It confirms that a policy existed on a date. It does not promise the policy will still be in force tomorrow, that the insurer will accept any particular claim, or that the limit will be enough. Policies get cancelled for non payment, altered mid term, or eroded by earlier claims where an aggregate applies. If a trade works for you for twelve months, the certificate you collected in July says nothing about December, which is why regular businesses ask for a fresh document at each renewal.
What FRS does
We hold your policy details, request certificates from the insurer, and check them against the contract that triggered the request before they go out. We also keep a record of what was issued to whom, so that when a client asks for proof of cover from three years ago, the document is findable rather than lost in an inbox.
For the wording behind the certificate, see our public liability insurance page, or send us the clause and we will read it with you.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a certificate of currency valid?
Only until the expiry date of the policy period shown on it. Most run for twelve months, and the document becomes worthless the day the policy renews because the requester cannot tell whether cover continued. Ask for a fresh certificate at each renewal and send it to every client, landlord or portal that holds the old one.
Does a certificate of currency prove a claim will be paid?
No. It confirms a policy was in force on the stated date at the stated limit. Whether a claim is paid depends on the policy wording, the exclusions, the excess and the facts of the incident. Treat it as proof that cover exists, not as any guarantee about a future or current claim.
Can I get one for a past date?
Usually yes. Insurers can confirm cover for an expired period, which matters when a claim arises years after the work was done or a client audits old suppliers. Ask your broker for the certificate covering the specific dates in question rather than the current one, and say why you need it.
Who should be named on the certificate?
The entity that signs the contract and carries the liability, written exactly as it appears on the agreement. If you trade through a company and the contract is in the company name, a certificate in a personal or trading name will be rejected. Interested parties such as landlords are added by endorsement to the policy.
