RC Pro certificate: how to get it in 24 hours (and what to check on it)

A professional liability insurance certificate (attestation RC Pro) can be obtained within 24 hours, often less: if your policy is in force, it can be downloaded immediately from your client portal or sent by your broker the same day; if you are not yet insured, an online subscription for a simple activity issues the certificate as soon as the first premium is paid, and a more complex file (scale-up, multiple activities, high limits) is settled in two to five working days. The real issue is not speed but what is written on it: a tender, a landlord or an enterprise client do not settle for a dated document, they check activities, amounts and a period.

What exactly is an RC Pro certificate?

The professional liability insurance certificate is a document issued by the insurer certifying that a policy exists, on a given date, in your company's name, for given activities and with specified limits of indemnity. It does not replace the policy: it summarises the points a third party needs to know. Nor is it a guarantee of payment, since it is issued subject to premiums being paid and to the policy's exclusions.

It should be distinguished from the special conditions, which are the policy itself, with its detailed covers, deductibles and exclusions; the "certificate of insurance" used in international dealings means the same thing as the attestation.

Who asks for an RC Pro certificate, and why?

Three requesters recur in the life of an SME. The public buyer, first: the French Public Procurement Code allows an insurance certificate to be required, but only from the successful bidder, before award; for works, Article L. 241-1 of the Insurance Code requires the builder to be able to prove its ten-year liability insurance from the opening of the site. The landlord, next: a commercial or office lease almost always requires annual proof of insurance covering tenant's risks and civil liability, because Article 1733 of the Civil Code holds the tenant liable for fire unless proven otherwise. The enterprise client, finally: its supplier compliance platforms (the duty of vigilance under Article L. 8222-1 of the Labour Code for any contract of at least €5,000 excluding VAT, with documents renewed every six months) add the RC Pro certificate to the required documents, with contractual limits often set at €1 million, €2 million or €5 million.

How do you obtain an RC Pro certificate within 24 hours?

If you are already insured, three channels: the insurer's client portal, which generates the document on demand; your broker, who issues it the same day and can include a wording requested by a client (name of the contract, site or landlord); the insurer's administration department, slower, within two to three days. If you are not insured, everything depends on the complexity of the risk: a consulting or software development activity under €1 million in turnover can be subscribed online in under an hour; several activities, several million in turnover or clients outside the European Union call for a questionnaire and a quote, generally within 48 to 72 hours with a complete file.

The most frequent blocker is not the insurer but the gap between what the client requires and what the policy contains. Discovering the day before submission that a contract requires a €3 million limit when your policy provides €1 million cannot be fixed in 24 hours.

What should you check on an RC Pro certificate before sending it?

The name and company registration number must match exactly the entity signing the contract; a certificate in the holding company's name does not cover the operating subsidiary. The period of validity, generally one year, must cover the duration of the assignment or at least the signing date, with a mention of automatic renewal where the policy renews. The insured activities must describe what you actually invoice: a SaaS vendor whose certificate says "IT consulting" is not covered for data hosting.

The limit of indemnity is the maximum the insurer will pay, per claim and per policy year; the certificate should distinguish bodily injury, property damage and financial loss, the latter being losses without physical damage (a service outage, a configuration error) and the ones most often capped low. The deductible, meaning the share you keep for each claim, does not always appear on the certificate, but an informed buyer will ask for it.

A certificate is not proof that you are well insured: it is proof that you are insured for what is written on it, and only for that.

What wording is expected on an RC Pro certificate?

Unlike ten-year construction insurance, whose certificate must follow the template set by the Order of 5 January 2016 under Article L. 243-2 of the Insurance Code, the RC Pro certificate has no statutory template. In practice, a usable document contains the elements in the table below.

What if the certificate does not match the client's requirements?

Three options, in order of speed. Negotiate the clause: many limit requirements are standards copied from one contract to the next, and a buyer often agrees to align them with the real size of the service. Request an endorsement: raising a limit or adding an activity is handled within days, for an additional premium often lower than what the contract earns. Take out an excess layer, which only responds above the limit of your main policy, for a one-off contract far above your usual programme. We cover this in our article on insurance clauses in enterprise contracts.

How do you stop chasing a certificate at every tender?

By treating the certificate as a recurring deliverable, not an emergency: keep an up-to-date certificate in the company's administrative file, renew it at each expiry without waiting for a request, reread the policy's activity description every year to align it with what you sell, and set your limits on the most demanding clause of your three largest contracts. An RC Pro built on your real activity produces a certificate you no longer have to justify.

Frequently asked questions

How long is an RC Pro certificate valid?

It covers the period stated, generally one year, aligned with the calendar year or the policy anniversary. Most buyers and landlords nevertheless refuse a certificate issued more than three months ago and ask for a new one at each annual renewal.

Can you get an RC Pro certificate without being insured yet?

No: the certificate certifies an existing policy. However, an online subscription for a simple activity issues the certificate as soon as payment is made, often in under an hour, and a broker can obtain a certificate from an insurer on the day the policy takes effect.

Is general liability enough when a client asks for an RC Pro certificate?

Rarely. General liability (RC exploitation) covers damage caused by the running of the business (an injured visitor, damage at a client's premises); professional liability covers the consequences of an error in the service itself. A client asking for RC Pro expects the latter; check that both appear on the certificate.

What is the risk of sending a certificate whose activities no longer match?

In the event of a claim on an undeclared activity, the insurer may refuse cover or reduce the indemnity under Articles L. 113-8 and L. 113-9 of the Insurance Code, and your client will turn against you for the uncovered loss. It is better to declare the activity and pay the premium adjustment.

At Lesto, we issue your certificates the same day and, above all, we read your client contracts and tender rules upstream so that your RC Pro matches what you will be asked for, on activities as on limits, after consulting nine insurers on average. Do you have a tender or a lease to secure? Request your RC Pro quote and receive an analysis within 72 hours.