Kristen Nunery warns that self-built insurance certification (Certificate of Insurance COI) tracking tools may give companies a false sense of security, as companies often mistake "collecting insurance documents" for "verifying insurance coverage and compliance."

Indianapolis, October 21, 2026 / PRNewswire / -- As general artificial intelligence ( AI ) makes it easier for companies to develop their own software, the founder and CEO of illumend , Kristen Nunery , is reminding construction and property management companies to be wary of a costly misconception: setting up COI tracking systems does not equate to verifying that contractors and other third parties have the insurance coverage required by contracts.

In her new article “You Can Build a COI Tracker with AI . That Doesn ’t Mean You Should”, Nunery explains that general AI tools such as ChatGPT can help companies create applications for collecting insurance documents, tracking expiration dates, and automatically sending reminders. However, these capabilities only cover a part of the insurance compliance process. To determine whether the insurance coverage meets contractual requirements, it is also necessary to interpret insurance documents, review policies, identify exclusions, and handle discrepancies that may be overlooked by basic tracking software.

Nunery said, " AI has made building software easier, but it doesn't provide people with the expertise needed to make correct insurance decisions." She has 16 years of experience in the field of insurance compliance. "If you don't have a compliance process in place today, then what you're automating is not really a process; it's just your best guess at best."

Why isn't the COI tracker an insurance compliance verification system?

Nunery indicates that the key difference lies in: on one hand, tracking whether the insurance documents exist and when they expire; on the other hand, verifying whether the underlying insurance coverage meets the contractual obligations.

Self-built COI trackers may confirm that a certain insurance certificate is still valid, record the policy limits, and mark missing files. However, a currently valid certificate does not necessarily mean that the contractor is fully insured or complies with the terms of the agreement.

For example, a subcontractor may have submitted a certificate indicating that the general liability limit is sufficient and that they have the status of an additional insured. However, the underlying policy may only be CG 20 10, which only covers ongoing operations, while the contract also requires coverage for completed work to be provided through CG 20 37 or an equivalent policy. The basic tracker may mark this subcontractor as compliant, even though the required coverage is missing.

Nunery said, "The tracker didn't misread anything. It simply never had access to the contract requirements, the wording of the approval documents, or the connection between the two."

Other potential gaps include incorrect names of insured entities, missing policy endorsements, insufficient coverage for completed work, and policy clauses that do not meet the contractual insurance requirements. Identifying these issues requires evaluating insurance evidence in context, rather than simply extracting data from certificates.

Why Insurance Compliance Verification Requires Specialized Technology

Nunery believes that enterprises that wish to go beyond the basic level tracked by COI need technology specifically designed for insurance compliance verification, as well as a way to integrate insurance expertise into the scope of system assessments.

Unlike self-built tracking tools, professional compliance platforms like illumend compare insurance documents with established contract requirements, review supporting endorsements, identify coverage gaps, and explain findings that require attention.

This method drives the dedicated AI insurance compliance experts from Lumie to illumend. Lumie will compare insurance certificates and policies with established requirements, identify potential deficiencies, and provide evidence to support their judgments. At the same time, it allows compliance professionals to review and handle exceptional cases.

Nunery said, " AI should not just identify problems. It should also tell you what it has found, which requirements have been assessed, and the evidence that supports its judgment." She stated, " Lumie scales the application of insurance expertise and establishes clear records of its findings, so that the team can handle routine judgments efficiently and focus their attention on the exceptional cases that require further review."

The perspective of Nunery comes from her experience in building myCOI. According to company data, this technology has reviewed over 45 million insurance documents and identified more than 2 million coverage gaps before claims were made.

Should it be a self-built COI tracker, or a compliant platform to purchase? These are the questions enterprises should ask themselves.

For organizations considering building their own COI software, Nunery recommends first determining whether what they need is a document tracking application or a complete insurance compliance verification system.

Basic tracking requirements can be met through spreadsheets, traditional software, or applications built using the universal AI. However, verifying compliance requires more: transforming insurance requirements from contracts into rules, reviewing policy documents and evidence, identifying exceptions, documenting decisions, and maintaining an auditable compliance process.

Enterprises must also consider who will be responsible for updating insurance requirements, verifying system judgments, investigating discrepancies, and maintaining the records necessary to support compliance decisions during claims or audits.

Nunery says, "The software only needs to be built once. Running a compliant system means that every day it is used, it must be kept up-to-date with requirements, evidence, follow-up actions, decision-making processes, and audit trails."

To read the full text of Nunery, please visit: https :// www.illumend.ai / evaluation-buying / build-vs-buy-coi-tracking-software-ai

About illumend

illumend ™ was established in 2025 and is a platform driven by AI, aimed at redefining how enterprises manage third-party insurance compliance and risk. The company is supported by myCOI, a leader in the field of third-party insurance compliance management with over 16 years of professional experience. illumend reinvents every step of the compliance process into a AI native experience through an intuitive system – from document review and expiration tracking to risk tagging, communication, and resolution. Lending on the institutional foundation of myCOI – which has processed over 45 million documents, managed over 1.2 million agreements, cleaned up more than 750,000 third-party partners, and identified over 2 million coverage gaps before claims – illumend brings this profound compliance intelligence into the AI native platform. At its core is Lumie, which is the illumend's conversational AI guide that can read complex insurance documents, flag issues in real-time, and explain them in language that anyone can act on. For more information, please visit: https :// www.illumend.ai.

Media contact:

Michael Tebo