As AI becomes common across COI tracking platforms, Nunery urges non-insurance professionals to evaluate whether the technology delivers stronger compliance judgment, clearer guidance and more consistent risk oversight
As artificial intelligence becomes a standard claim in Certificate of Insurance (COI) tracking software, Kristen Nunery, CEO of illumend, the next-generation AI platform redefining how companies manage third-party risk and insurance compliance, is urging buyers to judge platforms by whether they improve compliance decisions — not simply whether they accelerate document review.
Nunery’s core message for organizations evaluating AI-powered COI tracking is: faster review can reduce manual work, but better compliance intelligence helps teams make stronger, more consistent risk decisions.
In a new article titled “AI in COI Tracking Is Everywhere. Meaningful Outcomes Are Not,” Nunery argues that the real test of AI-powered COI tracking is not whether a platform uses AI. It is whether it helps users make better compliance decisions, including interpreting insurance requirements, identifying coverage gaps, guiding next steps, resolving vendor issues, and managing third-party compliance risk with greater confidence over time.
“As AI-powered COI tracking becomes more common, there is a divide in the market: some platforms are using AI to move documents faster, while others are using it to improve compliance decisions,” said Kristen Nunery, CEO of illumend. “That is the difference people need to pay attention to, especially the non-insurance professionals choosing and using these systems. Faster review alone does not reduce risk if coverage is interpreted inconsistently or incorrectly. The real value of AI in COI tracking is better decision quality, stronger alignment with contractual requirements, and more consistent oversight of third-party insurance documentation.”
Many platforms now emphasize faster extraction, faster comparison, and faster document handling using AI. Those capabilities can reduce manual work, especially in high-volume environments. But Nunery argues that speed alone does not solve the core challenge of third-party insurance compliance.
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The challenge is not only volume. It is the complexity of interpreting varied certificates, endorsements, schedules, supporting documents, and contractual requirements — often by operations, finance, HR, project management and administrative teams that are not insurance specialists. Requirements can differ across agreements, vendors, and projects, while critical information may be spread across multiple submissions. Without the right guidance, teams can struggle to review documentation consistently, resolve issues efficiently, and maintain visibility into risk over time.
This makes AI-powered COI tracking especially important for non-insurance professionals who are responsible for vendor compliance, subcontractor compliance, risk management, procurement, operations, or administrative review. These users often need software that does more than read documents, says Nunery. She says they need technology that explains what matters, flags what is missing, and helps them act with confidence.
In practical terms, Nunery says buyers evaluating AI-powered COI tracking software should ask five questions:
- Can the platform interpret insurance requirements in the context of contracts, vendors and projects?
- Can it identify missing, insufficient or noncompliant coverage before those gaps create risk?
- Can it guide non-insurance users toward the next best action?
- Can it help teams communicate more clearly with vendors and third parties?
- Can it maintain visibility into expirations, exceptions, unresolved issues and changing compliance status over time?
“A review acceleration model is about speed. A compliance intelligence model is about judgment,” Nunery said. “The long-term value of AI in COI tracking comes from helping organizations make better decisions more consistently, not just from helping them move documents faster.”
illumend’s platform is designed around that standard. Built as an AI-native system for third-party insurance compliance, illumend helps organizations move beyond document collection and toward clearer interpretation, stronger consistency, guided action, and measurable risk reduction across the compliance lifecycle.
illumend defines compliance intelligence as the ability to combine insurance document review, interpretation of contractual requirements, risk flagging, workflow guidance and ongoing compliance visibility in one system.
illumend’s approach is grounded in substantial operational experience. Built on the foundation of myCOI, illumend draws on a history of processing more than 45 million documents, managing more than 1.2 million agreements, clearing more than 750,000 third-party partners and identifying more than two million coverage gaps before claims occurred.
For operations leaders, administrative teams, and risk leaders, the distinction between AI document processing and AI compliance intelligence can have broad business implications, according to Nunery. A platform that delivers compliance intelligence, she says, can reduce friction in vendor management, improve confidence in decision-making, support more consistent third-party oversight, and lower exposure to costly claims.
“The question is no longer whether a COI tracking platform has AI,” Nunery said. “The better question is whether that AI helps people make better compliance decisions. That is the standard buyers should apply as they evaluate the next generation of third-party insurance compliance technology.”
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