Moving industry know-how
COIs and building time windows
What a certificate of insurance is, why buildings ask for one, the move-hour windows and elevator bookings many buildings set, and how to collect them before move day.
- 2 min read
- Checked against MoveBoard
- For sales, dispatchers, owners & admins
Apartment buildings, condos and offices protect themselves from damage to their lobbies, elevators and hallways. Two rules come up again and again: a certificate of insurance and a time window for the move.
Certificate of insurance (COI)
A COI is a one-page document from your insurance agent that proves your company carries insurance — usually general liability, auto and workers' compensation — with amounts and dates.
Buildings often ask to be named as certificate holder or additional insured, with their exact legal name and address. Get the wording from the building manager; a COI with the wrong name is refused at the door.
Good practice:
- Ask about the building at the first call: "Does your building need a certificate of insurance?"
- Get the building manager's contact and the exact wording.
- Send the request to your insurance agent at least a few business days before the move — agents can't always turn one round the same day.
- Send the COI to the building and keep a copy on the order.
Time windows and elevators
Many buildings allow moves only in set hours (for example weekdays 9 AM–4 PM), require the elevator to be reserved and padded, or assign a loading dock. Some charge a deposit. A crew that arrives outside the window may be turned away — and the day is lost.
Ask about:
- the allowed move days and hours,
- the elevator booking and who confirms it,
- the loading dock or parking, and any permit for the street.
Match the crew's arrival window to the building's window, and leave time for the elevator.
In MoveBoard
- Switch on Display COI option and Display time window restriction option on Settings › Customer experience › COI & time windows. The customer's address form then asks whether the building needs a COI (and who gets it), and whether it has a time window (and between which hours). See COI & time windows.
- What the customer fills in shows on the order's stop for the office — see Addresses and stops.
- Keep the COI and the building's rules as attachments on the order.
Related guides
- SettingsCOI & time windowsLet customers tell you their building needs a certificate of insurance, or only allows moves in certain hours.
- Customer portalPolicies, certificates of insurance and building time windowsThe company policy, cancellation policy and terms customers agree to when they book — and how customers tell you a building needs a certificate of insurance or has set hours.
- OrdersAddresses and stopsAdd, change, reorder and remove the stops of a move, and set the details that change how long it takes.
- Dispatch & schedulingArrival windowsHow arrival windows work from booking to the day — the customer's requested time, the window you set, how the board sets one when you drag, and telling the customer.
Still stuck? A person will help.
Open a ticket from Support inside MoveBoard, or email us — we usually reply within one business day.