Comparison
Pikorua Security vs. Front-Page COI OCR Software
Front-page OCR tools read the ACORD 25 and save you the typing. That is useful, and it is also where they stop: the Y in the additional insured column gets read, the CG 20 10 edition behind it does not. Pikorua Security reads the endorsement pages, validates edition dates against your contract exhibit, flags restrictive exclusions and enforces the result through Procore, CMiC, Yardi or AppFolio.
Scorecard
13 verification and enforcement checks, scored from the table below.
Front-page OCR tools
2 / 13 built in
2 yes, 6 partial, 5 no
Time per packet: Seconds for the front page, then about 23 minutes reading endorsements by hand.
Pikorua Security
13 / 13 built in
13 yes, 0 partial, 0 no
Time per packet: About 15 seconds to read, then about 3 minutes of human sign-off on flagged results.
Capability by capability
Front-page OCR tools and Pikorua Security, row by row.
15 capabilities, side by side
- Yes, built in
- Partial or manual
- No
| Capability | Front-page OCR tools | Pikorua Security |
|---|---|---|
| Reads ACORD 25 and ACORD 28 fields | Yes. Front-page fields are extracted automatically; accuracy depends on scan quality. | Yes. Limits by line, policy numbers, dates, insurers and certificate holder, extracted in about 15 seconds. |
| Reads attached endorsement pages | Partial. Endorsement PDFs are stored as attachments; reading the wording is left to a reviewer. | Yes. Deep OCR on every attached form, with the form number and edition read from the page footer. |
| Validates ISO edition dates | No. Without reading the form footer, editions are never compared with your exhibit. | Yes. Compares 11 85, 10 01, 07 04 and 04 13 editions with the edition your exhibit allows. |
| Detects missing CG 20 37 completed operations | No. A Y in the ADDL INSD column reads the same with or without CG 20 37 attached. | Yes. Requires CG 20 37 or equivalent completed operations wording whenever the exhibit calls for it. |
| Flags limiting exclusions (CG 21 39, CG 22 94, CG 21 44) | No. Exclusions are not printed on the certificate, so front-page extraction cannot see them. | Yes. Flags CG 21 39, CG 24 26, CG 22 94 and CG 21 44 wherever they appear in the packet. |
| Verifies waivers of subrogation (CG 24 04, WC 00 03 13, CA 04 44) | Partial. Reads the SUBR WVD column; does not confirm the form or the party it names. | Yes. Checks the form and the party it names on general liability, auto and workers compensation. |
| Confirms primary and non-contributory wording (CG 20 01) | No. Primary and non-contributory wording is on the endorsement, not the front page. | Yes. Verifies CG 20 01 or equivalent wording against the tier the vendor's contract requires. |
| AM Best rating check (A- VII or better) | Partial. The rating is not on the ACORD 25, so it needs a separate lookup that varies by setup. | Yes. Checks Financial Strength Rating and Financial Size Category on every packet. |
| Chases the vendor and its retail insurance agent | Partial. Emails the vendor about front-page gaps; endorsement gaps still run through your PM. | Yes. One deficiency checklist to the vendor and its agent, with a zero-login upload link. |
| Renewal cadence | Yes. Automated expiration reminders are standard. | Yes. 60, 30, 15 and 0 days before expiration, automatically. |
| Payment holds in Procore, CMiC, Yardi or AppFolio | Partial. Usually a status field or an export; someone still applies the hold in the ERP. | Yes. Places and releases holds through the connector as documents fail or verify. |
| Jobsite and building access control | No. Access control sits outside the tool. | Yes. Locks Openpath or Brivo badges for deficient vendors on Enterprise. |
| Audit trail for tender defense | Partial. Keeps certificate history; does not record which endorsement was checked against which clause. | Yes. Time-stamped verification log, every document version and the exhibit, exported as one packet. |
| Reviewer time per COI packet | Seconds for the front page, then about 23 minutes reading endorsements by hand. | About 15 seconds to read, then about 3 minutes of human sign-off on flagged results. |
| Annual cost at 150 vendors | Software subscription plus about 430 reviewer hours (about $19,300) on endorsements and chasing. | $8,388 a year on Professional, plus about 79 reviewer hours (about $3,550). |
Cost of approach
The cost of each approach, in hours and dollars.
Your inputs
Subcontractors, suppliers or carriers that send you COIs in a year.
CFMA Time Study: 25 to 40 minutes per COI and endorsement packet.
A $45 loaded project manager hour is the default.
Leave at 0 to compare staff time only.
Estimated annual cost
Front-page OCR tools
$19,271
428 hours of your team's time. $19,271 in staff time.
Pikorua Security
$11,939
79 hours of your team's time. $3,551 staff time + $8,388 Professional plan.
- Hours returned to your team
- 349
- Annual difference in Pikorua Security's favor
- $7,333
How this is calculated
- Each vendor sends 2 packets a year (initial COI and one renewal). 71% of packets are deficient on first review (AGC Risk Committee Audit), and each deficient packet is reviewed again when the correction arrives.
- Front-page fields are extracted automatically, so about 70% of a full review remains: reading the endorsement pages.
- Front-page gaps are emailed automatically; endorsement gaps still take about 65 minutes of follow-up each.
- Pikorua Security reads each packet automatically; a person spends about 3 minutes signing off flagged results and about 15 minutes on escalations per defect. Broker chasing runs on the 60, 30, 15 and 0 day cadence.
- Plan by vendor count: Starter up to 75 ($3,588 a year), Professional 75 to 300 ($8,388), Enterprise above 300 (from $16,800).
What front-page extraction gets right
Automated COI tools that read the ACORD 25 solve a real problem. They remove the typing, catch expiration dates without a spreadsheet formula and send reminders before policies lapse. For a team that was keying certificates by hand, that alone recovers meaningful time.
They are also consistent where people are not. Every certificate gets the same fields extracted the same way, and the vendor list stays current without someone updating rows on a Friday afternoon. If expiration tracking is the whole requirement, front-page extraction does the job.
The certificate is not the coverage
The ACORD 25 states that it is issued as a matter of information only and confers no rights upon the certificate holder. The rights come from the endorsements on the vendor's policy. A tool that reads only the front page can tell you a Y appears in the ADDL INSD column. It cannot tell you whether the form behind that Y is CG 20 10 04 13, which covers you during ongoing operations only, or CG 20 10 paired with CG 20 37, which also covers completed operations.
In Pikorua Security's 2026 benchmark, missing CG 20 37 completed operations shows up in 64% of deficient files, missing waivers of subrogation in 41% and absent primary and non-contributory wording in 37%. Front-page extraction cannot see any of the three, and those are the defects that turn into denied tenders.
Edition dates and exclusions: the checks front-page tools skip
ISO endorsements change meaning by edition. CG 20 10 11 85 covered the additional insured for your work, ongoing and completed. From the 10 93 edition on, coverage is limited to ongoing operations, and CG 20 37 arrived with the 10 01 editions to restore completed operations. The 07 04 editions replaced 'arising out of' with 'caused, in whole or in part, by', so there is no coverage for the additional insured's sole negligence. The 04 13 editions added 'only to the extent permitted by law', coverage no broader than the contract requires, and limits capped at the lesser of the contract requirement or the policy limits.
Exclusions matter as much as the grants. CG 21 39 strips the contractual liability coverage your indemnity clause relies on. CG 22 94 excludes damage to work performed by subcontractors on the insured's behalf. CG 21 44 limits coverage to designated premises, projects or operations. Pikorua Security reads the edition from each form's footer, compares it with what your exhibit allows, and flags restrictive forms wherever they appear in the packet.
Enforcement is the other half
Finding a defect does nothing until someone acts on it. Pikorua Security sends one deficiency checklist to the vendor and its retail insurance agent, with a zero-login link for the corrected endorsement, and places a payment hold through the Procore, Yardi or AppFolio connector until the document verifies. On Enterprise, the same status can lock jobsite badges through Openpath or Brivo and hold vendors in CMiC.
If your current tool already handles intake and reminders well, Pikorua Security can take over the endorsement and enforcement layer, importing your existing vendor records during the 14-day free trial so you can compare results on the same packets.
Questions
Questions teams ask before they switch.
We already pay for a COI tool. Can we trial Pikorua Security alongside it?
How does Pikorua Security read endorsement pages that are scanned crooked or faxed?
Which forms does Pikorua Security recognize?
Other comparisons
Not how you work today?
Manual spreadsheets
Broker certificate desk
Outsourced review services
Related reading: customer stories, CG 20 37 completed operations and CG 20 10 editions.
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