Certificate Hero

What it is

Certificate Hero is software for insurance brokers and agencies to issue and manage certificates of insurance. It sits on top of your agency management system and handles the work around the ACORD 25: reading the holder’s contract requirements, building the certificate with the right wording, and letting clients issue routine certificates themselves.

The company raised a $4.5 million Series Seed II led by RRE Ventures in March 2022, bringing total funding to $6.5 million, per Insurance Innovation Reporter. Michael Yanoff is CEO. Coverager reported in 2025 that Brown & Brown selected Certificate Hero to automate COI issuance. Insurity announced a partnership in May 2024. The company won a 2022 ACORD Case Study Award, per its site.

How it works

Per the vendor’s site (October 2026):

1. Policy data comes from the AMS. Real-time AMS connectivity keeps certificate data in line with the policy. Smart templates update when coverage changes.
2. Contract review. AI parses the insurance requirements in a holder’s contract and annotates them against the insured’s policy data, flagging coverage gaps before a certificate goes out.
3. Build the certificate. Staff use a live ACORD form editor that works directly in the PDF, with validation and guardrails against errors such as wrong limits. A library holds standard Description of Operations text and reusable endorsements.
4. Client self-service. Insureds can issue their own certificates through a portal, including after hours. Administrators customize what insureds see and set safeguards.
5. Track and report. Every certificate action is logged for audit. Analytics break down activity by customer, line, employee and holder, and an open API exports data to tools such as Salesforce and Power BI.

Where it’s strong

Built around requirements, not just forms. Most certificate errors come from missing a contract requirement: additional insured status, waiver of subrogation, primary and non-contributory wording. Reviewing the contract against the policy before issuing targets that E&O risk directly.

Controls for self-service. Letting clients self-issue saves service time, but only if the agency controls the wording and holders. Certificate Hero puts administrator safeguards around the portal.

Proven at scale. Selection by Brown & Brown, one of the largest US brokers, plus the Insurity partnership, are stronger signals than most COI vendors can show.

Audit trail. Logged actions and a SOC 2 seal on the site support E&O and client audit requests.

Where it falls short

Pricing by quote only. The vendor says pricing depends on certificate type and customization level. You can’t compare cost without a sales call.

AMS support not listed. The site promises real-time AMS connectivity but names no systems. Coverage of the Brown & Brown deal also doesn’t name the AMS. Ask for references on your system.

Aimed at volume. Contract parsing, analytics and libraries pay off for agencies issuing many commercial certificates. A small personal-lines-heavy agency may not need them.

Thin public feedback. We found no review-site listing with enough reviews to summarize as of October 2026.

Pricing and setup

Not published. The site says pricing varies by certificate type and level of customization and directs buyers to sales (as of October 2026). Setup includes connecting your AMS and building templates and wording libraries.

Who should look elsewhere

• Agencies that want a free option. A certificate network with a free agency plan can handle issuance and live coverage updates at no cost, though holders need to use the network.
• Applied Epic agencies with modest volume. The client portal that comes with your AMS may already let clients request or issue routine certificates.
• Agencies whose clients track vendors’ certificates. If the need is tracking certificates your clients receive, a holder-side compliance tracking platform is the better fit.