Information Center: Construction Insurance

Construction insurance -- finding it and managing it -- is crucial to the continued financial health of building and remodeling companies. This collection of articles about construction insurance, drawn from Hanley Wood publications, will guide you through this complicated and ever-changing topic.

• By Law:Arbitration(REMODELING, January 2007)
• Stuck in Neutral:Lawsuits delay New Orleans rebuilding efforts.(MULTIFAMILY EXECUTIVE, January 2007)
• Charges Dropped:Feds back off illegal-worker charges against Fischer Homes.(BUILDER, January 2007)
• Danger Above:Builders and contractors sue New York state officials in federal court.( BUILDER, January 2007)
• Review Time:Say goodbye to 2006 with a clean financial slate.( Custom Home, November 2006)
• Immigration Issue:Federal lawsuit filed against Pennsylvania city.( BUILDER, November 2006)
• Florida Vacation:Insurance costs force Miami brokers to take a break.( MULTIFAMILY EXECUTIVE, November 2006)
• Insurance at What Price?:As health insurance costs continue to rise, employers are feeling the pinch.( REPLACEMENT CONTRACTOR, November 2006)
• From Making Bank to Bankruptcy:New Jersey-based Kara Homes overextends itself on land and files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.( BIG BUILDER Magazine, November 2006)
• After Andrew:Debate continues over Florida hurricane code exemption.(BUILDER Magazine, November 2006)
• Clipped Wings:High-flying Kara Homes files for bankruptcy protection.(BUILDER Magazine, November 2006)
• Saving a Safety Net: Florida's insurance crisis hits home builders.(BUILDER Magazine, September 2006)
• Property Wars: A copyright case with far-reaching implications for big builders is back on the docket.(BUILDER Magazine, September 2006)
• Florida Insurance Crisis: With fewer private insurance firms, some buyers are finding themselves priced out of home purchases because of rising homeowners' insurance costs.(BIG BUILDER Magazine, August 2006)
• Minority Report: A new report says lenders charge blacks and Hispanics more for loans.(BUILDER Magazine, August 2006)
• What's Permitted: Why the ambiguity when it comes to requiring permits for siding jobs? (REPLACEMENT CONTRACTOR Magazine, May 2006)
• Self Insurance: As a home builder, do you feel like persona non grata with insurance companies these days? You're not imagining things. According to insurance experts such as Jenny Schaefer, with Hilb, Rogal and Hobbs, (HRH), an insurance brokerage firm with offices all over the United States, few insurers want to touch a builder with an 8-foot 2x4 these days. (BUILDER Magazine, July 2004)
• Shouldering The Risk: Jim Alexander, CFO at David Weekley Homes in Houston, recalls when the job of protecting his company against the risks inherent in running a home building business began to change dramatically. It became clear, he says, during the weeks that followed Sept. 11, 2001when rising concerns about mold and construction defect litigation converged with the financial hardships suddenly cast upon many insurers. (BIG BUILDER Magazine, May 2004)
• Braced for the Storm: Well, we all saw it coming, says Pat Petersen, senior vice president and general counsel of Technical Olympic USA, headquartered in Holiday, Fla. Starting August 10, as Hurricane Charley gathered force and speed and barreled into the Sunshine State, builders in central and southwestern Florida swung into action, putting their storm survival strategies to the test of a Category 4 hurricane, whose winds can blow up to 155 miles an hour and bring waves surging up to 18 feet above normal. (BIG BUILDER Magazine, May 2004)
• Extended Coverage: John Anglin, senior vice president of purchasing at Pardee Homes, remembers when he and Pardee's sub-contractors could predict what their insurance costs would be. There were many insurers from which to choose, and competition among them kept the prices within reason. But that was a distant three years ago. (BIG BUILDER Magazine, March 2004)
• Insurance Insight: Liability insurance gives builders coverage for damages resulting from third-party claims such as bodily injury and property damage. In recent years, insurance coverage for builders has become dramatically less available, and builders are seeing enormous increases in premiums. In addition, the insurance industry has narrowed the scope of coverage for builders. In short, building professionals are confronting a nationwide liability insurance crisis. (BUILDER Magazine, December 2003)
• Reducing Your Liability Risk: Defective Thinking: Hypochondriac homeowners. Turn-tail insurance agencies. Opportunistic attorneys. Have construction-defect lawsuits made your world seem like a hostile place? Here's hope: Most litigation springs from a handful of easily avoidable construction errors. So put on your hard hat and grab your moisture meter. It's time to change the rules. (BUILDER Magazine, Sept. 2003)
• From the President: Insurance--Bad News Blues: Take a deep breath before you open that next letter from your insurance carrier. It could be full of bad news. Builders nationwide are finding that costs for general liability insurance are soaring. In some states, insurance isn't available at any price.(BUILDER, October 2002)
• Coverage Crisis: Well, at least we're not alone. Lest builders think this industry is the only one getting hammered in the liability insurance crisis (and it is officially a crisis now), premiums, retentions (or deductibles), and exclusions are up, and limits are down, regardless of the field.. (BUILDER Magazine, September 2002)
• Risk Retention: A history of rare payouts and narrow policy language has builders looking more closely at their options for long-term warranty coverage. (BUILDER Magazine, July 2002)