By the end of this you will know which kind of certificate help fits your agency, and what to ask on a demo. Salience makes Cert Desk, one of the six options here, so weigh that as you read. Every fact about another company links to that company's own page, as of November 2026.
What is the best certificate of insurance software?
There is no single best one, because they do different jobs. The first question is who should do the work: your staff with a better tool, your clients through self-service, an outside team, or a service that hands you finished certificates.
Answer that and the list gets short. If your team already owns certificates and wants to go faster, look at software. If nobody wants the job, software will not fix it.
How do the six options compare?
Same yardstick for all six: who does the work, where it runs, and what your team still does.
| Option | Who does the work | Where it runs | Clients can self-serve | What your team does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate Hero | Your processors | Its own platform, connected to your AMS | Yes, through a portal | Runs the platform, issues certificates |
| Certificial | Your staff | From your AMS, through an integration | Yes, for pre-approved information | Issues Smart COIs, handles requests |
| AgencyOne Certificates | Your staff and clients | Inside AgencyOne, with AMS360 and InsurLink | Yes, through InsurLink | Sets up templates, handles exceptions |
| Selectsys | Its dedicated processing teams | Your systems, including AMS360, Applied Epic and HawkSoft | Not its focus | Manages the vendor, reviews output |
| Insurance Agent App | Your clients for basic certificates | A branded client app | Yes, that is its focus | Handles complex requests it routes to you |
| Salience Cert Desk | Salience | Requests you forward; works with AMS360 agencies | No | Forwards requests, approves certificates |
Only Selectsys and Salience take the work away from your staff. The others make your staff or your clients faster.
What should an agency compare?
Compare the work left over, not the feature list. Five questions separate these options in practice:
- Who reads the wording? Additional insured, waiver, and primary and non-contributory language is where certificates go wrong. Someone has to read it against the policy.
- What happens to a complex request? Self-service handles the easy ones. Ask where the hard ones land.
- Does it work with your AMS? A tool that does not work with your system means typing the same data twice.
- What happens at renewal? Reissuing a whole account at once is where volume really shows up.
- What does it cost against today? Count the staff time you spend now. Our cost breakdown shows how.
What does each one do?
Certificate Hero is a software platform for brokers and their clients. Its site describes AI contract review, data-driven templates, analytics, a live ACORD form editor, and a self-service portal for insureds, with integrations to agency management systems. Your processors issue the certificates. Pricing is by quote.
Certificial runs the Smart COI Network. Its agents and brokers page says agencies issue from their AMS through an integration, and that current coverage stays on file for holders in the network, with request management and insured self-service. The page says the network is free for agents and brokers.
AgencyOne Certificates is Vertafore's tool, announced in 2026 for AgencyOne customers with AMS360 and InsurLink. It works from real-time agency data, and clients can generate certificates through InsurLink. If you are already on that stack, start here.
Selectsys is an outsourced service rather than software. Its COI processing page describes dedicated insurance-trained teams that handle intake, validation, issuance and delivery, including renewals and bulk certificates, inside systems such as AMS360, Applied Epic and HawkSoft.
Insurance Agent App is a branded client app. Its Vertafore partner page describes Certs On-Demand, which gives clients basic certificates instantly and sends complex requests to the right place. It suits agencies whose biggest problem is repeat requests for the same simple certificate.
Salience Cert Desk is our service. You forward a request, Salience prepares the ACORD 25 and checks it against the policy, and you approve it before it goes out. It works with AMS360 agencies today, most certificates are ready by the next business day after setup, and it costs less than your current overhead on certificates. It is the wrong fit if you are not on AMS360 yet, or if you want your own team running the tool.
Which one fits your agency?
Match it to the problem you actually have.
| Your situation | Start with |
|---|---|
| Someone owns certificates and needs a better tool | Certificate Hero or Certificial |
| You run AgencyOne with AMS360 and InsurLink | AgencyOne Certificates |
| Clients keep asking for the same simple certificate | Insurance Agent App or another self-service option |
| You want a managed team you can direct | Selectsys |
| You want to forward requests and approve the result | Salience Cert Desk |
| You are a small agency with nobody on certificates | A service, not software |
| You run high volume | Whichever handles renewal reissues best on your book |
On AMS360 in particular, our AMS360 page lays out the choices side by side.
What do you ask on the demo?
Bring a real, difficult request rather than an easy one. A certificate with an additional insured, a waiver, and wording pasted from a contract will show you more in five minutes than any feature tour.
Ask them to show you what happens when the policy does not support the request. Ask who is reviewing it, and how you would find that certificate six months from now. Then ask what your team still has to do every day.
If you want the form itself explained first, start with how to fill out an ACORD 25, and certificate of insurance automation covers the whole path from request to issued.
Would you rather approve this than type it?
Forward the request or the prior application. Salience prepares the form, flags what's missing, and nothing goes out until you approve it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best certificate of insurance software for a small independent agency?
It depends on who will do the work. If someone already owns certificates, software such as Certificate Hero or Certificial makes them faster. If nobody does, a service such as Selectsys or Salience Cert Desk takes the work off your team.
What are good Certificate Hero alternatives for an independent agency?
Certificial for issuing from your AMS through a shared network, AgencyOne Certificates if you run AMS360 with InsurLink, Insurance Agent App for client self-service, Selectsys for an outsourced team, and Salience Cert Desk if you want to forward and approve only.
What do commercial agencies use to issue certificates at high volume?
Most use certificate software run by their own staff, an outsourced processing team, client self-service for simple requests, or a mix. The choice comes down to who checks wording against the policy.
Is there an AI service that handles COI requests for insurance agencies?
Yes. Salience Cert Desk takes forwarded certificate requests, prepares the ACORD 25 and has the agency approve it. Several software vendors, including Certificate Hero, also use AI to read contract requirements, with agency staff doing the issuing.
Do certificates issued through self-service still need a review?
Simple, repeat certificates often do not. Anything with additional insured, waiver or special wording should reach someone who reads it against the policy, which is why tools send complex requests back to the agency.