Wednesday, November 4—Half-Day Workshops (select one from W1-W5)

W1. Filling the Holes in Contractors’ Liability Coverages

This fast-moving session will pinpoint common problems that can result in gaps in contractors' liability coverages, including general liability, umbrella liability, contractors professional liability, and contractors pollution liability. Often, there are relatively easy “fixes” that can close holes in the basic policy form and avoid unexpected gaps in coverage. Find out how to maximize the value of your liability insurance program (or your client’s) and protect the company balance sheet from a potentially devastating uninsured loss by closing these common holes in a contractor’s liability program. Even where gaps can’t be closed, contractors who know they exist can make informed decisions about alternative methods of managing these risks.

Karen A. Reutter, Senior Vice President, Aon
Jeff Slivka, Executive Vice President, New Day Underwriting Managers LLC

W2. Getting Up to Speed on Alternative Project Delivery Systems

Public-private partnerships (P3s) and integrated project delivery (IPD) are buzzwords that many in construction risk and insurance circles have heard but few fully understand. Having gained acceptance as an alternative method of funding public infrastructure projects overseas, the P3 concept is gaining traction in the United States as many government entities grapple with insurmountable gaps between infrastructure needs and funding for these projects. Likewise, in an economically challenging time, IPD offers the potential for improvements in efficiency and cost-effectiveness by integrating design and construction. This workshop will first provide an overview of the P3 concept, then examine the various facts and myths of P3 construction and outline the unique and increased design and construction risks participants face, as well as potential gaps in conventional liability insurance coverages.

Thomas Grandmaison, Senior Vice President, Construction Liability, Lexington Insurance Company
David J. Hatem, PC, Partner, Donovan Hatem LLP
James E. Marran Jr., Executive Vice President, Allied North America
Robert Rogers, Assistant Vice President, Architects & Engineers Professional Liability, Lexington Insurance Company

W3. Practical and Effective Risk Management Techniques

This session provides a hands-on, practical approach to construction risk management that will address not just what to do but how to do it. Fast-paced and broad in scope, this workshop will teach attendees strategies for many practical issues, such as managing workers compensation claims, investigating and settling claims, verifying compliance with insurance requirements, improving safety programs, preparing for litigation, getting the most out of your information systems, and much more. This session is for everyone involved in construction risk as it provides effective techniques that can be implemented by contractors and those that partner with them.

Frank Keres, President, Construction Risk Associates, Inc.

W4. Survival Strategies for Contractors

Even in good times, most contractors and subcontractors operate on thin margins, and in bad times these margins get even thinner. As contractors begin to reach the end of their backlog, and new projects are harder to come by, management must be preparing a plan to stay afloat until the economy recovers. This workshop first outlines some key issues contractors must address to avoid the fate of so many others who have already closed their doors. One of the key challenges contractors will face is maintaining access to surety credit. Learn strategies for winding down current projects while gearing up to succeed going forward, including strategies for maintaining a balance sheet that sureties will be willing to stand behind.

John S. Alberici, President (Alberici Group), Chairman (Alberici Corporation)
Joanne S. Brooks, Senior Vice President, Zurich Surety, Credit and Political Risk
David S. Hewett, Senior Vice President, Zurich

W5. Keeping Safety at the Forefront

The construction and insurance industries have a common problem—the only time they really get noticed is when something goes wrong. In construction, a tragedy often means a loss of life as well as an economic setback. In these challenging times, when margins are thin and managers are anxious, construction and insurance professionals must hold on to the value that safety is not optional. This workshop first addresses the key components of a world-class safety program and how to improve on your performance in these areas. The second half of the program will examine one contractor’s journey in transforming its corporate culture to put safety on equal par with productivity and tangible and intangible benefits the company reaped as a result.

Robert H. Hunt Jr., Senior Vice President, American Contractors Insurance Group
Kenneth T. Kochevar, Vice President/General Manager,CEI