Record Number Attends IRMI Construction Risk Conference

Release Date: November 10, 2004
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ORLANDO—Approximately 1,250 risk managers, agents, brokers, attorneys, and underwriters who specialize in managing or insuring the risks associated with construction projects convened here November 8-11 for the 24th IRMI Construction Risk Conference, making it the largest gathering of construction risk professionals in the world.

The IRMI Construction Risk Conference is the only national symposium devoted exclusively to insuring, bonding, and managing the risks of construction projects. The Conference featured a full-day seminar, a general session, and 28 workshops that were presented by 59 nationally recognized insurance, risk management, and surety experts.

Contractors large and small sent their risk, insurance, and safety managers. In addition, virtually all the major providers of insurance or surety services were represented, and a substantial number of risk managers representing project owners (i.e., companies with large construction projects planned or under way) attended this year.

"While the commercial lines insurance marketplace has moderated substantially for most types of businesses in the past 12 months, many contractors are still struggling to find competitive pricing and coverage terms," said IRMI president and conference co-chair Jack Gibson. "Contractors considered to be preferred risks by underwriters—those with favorable loss experience and that are not engaged in targeted types of construction, such as residential, or involved with hazardous materials, such as those containing silica—are seeing some competition in the insurance marketplace. But most others are not. For this reason, contractors and their advisors are very tuned in to all the ways they can manage their risks, from proper contract risk transfer provisions to safety to insurance purchasing, and this has caused our attendance to grow for 3 years in a row now."

The 25th IRMI Construction Risk Conference will be held November 7-10, 2005, in Las Vegas. For information concerning the 25th IRMI Conference, visit www.IRMI.com or contact International Risk Management Institute, Inc., at 12222 Merit Drive, Suite 1450, Dallas, TX, 75251 (phone 800-827-4242, in Dallas, 972-960-7693, or fax 972-371-5120).