Latest Construction Headlines

All the headlines from our Construction Topic Page, ordered by recency.

South Carolina Firefighters Urge Lawmakers to Keep Sprinkler Code

May 13 2010 // South Carolina firefighters urged legislators this week to uphold a construction code requiring that new homes be equipped with fire sprinklers in a debate that pits safety against cost. They urged senators to defeat a...

Louisiana to Borrow $320M for New Construction Spending

May 6 2010 // Louisiana will borrow $320 million next year for state construction projects, far less than needed to fulfill the billions of dollars in requests from lawmakers and state agencies, the governor’s top budget adviser...

Chartis Introduces One-Stop Solution for Small Business Construction

May 4 2010 // Chartis has introduced Construction Solutions for Small Business, a multi-line coverage approach to construction-related insurance products. This new practice will offer the full product set currently available from the...

Animal Workers in Peril

May 3 2010 // The Dangers of Working With Wild Animals In 2010, Dawn Brancheau, a trainer at SeaWorld in Orlando, Fla.,was grabbed by a killer whale as she stood in a wading area at the edge of his tank. Reports said she was grabbed by...

People

May 3 2010 // Heffernan Insurance Brokers headquartered in Walnut Creek, Calif., hired Keith W. Newell as senior vice president, Southern California Construction Practice Leader in its Los Angeles office. Newell will expand...

Colorado Bill May Drive Contractors Insurers Out of State

Apr 28 2010 // The Colorado House of Representatives has passed a bill that may have the unintended consequence of driving insurers that provide contractors coverage out of state, according to the Professional Independent Insurance...

Traditional Property Policies Can Leave Green Buildings Exposed

Apr 8 2010 // With the U.S. Green Building Council forecasting growth in the green building market to double between now and 2013, agents and brokers can expect to see increasing client demand for green insurance coverage. Because...

Heffernan Insurance Hires Newell for Southern Calif. Construction Practice

Apr 7 2010 // Heffernan Insurance Brokers headquartered in Walnut Creek, Calif., has hired Keith W. Newell as senior vice president, Southern California Construction Practice Leader in its Los Angeles office. Newell will expand...

Green Building Movement Raises Some Construction Defect, Claims Concern

Apr 7 2010 // New insurance products to protect innovative green construction products such as wind turbines, fuel cells and vegetative roofs are on the rise. But even those closest to the situation admit to being a bit, well, green,...

People

Apr 5 2010 // New York-based USI Holdings Corp. has named Sandra Usleman, former president of USI’s Austin, Texas, operating company in the Southwest region, as senior vice president and chief sales officer. Other changes in...

Beauvais to Head Ironshore’s Construction Practice in U.S.

Apr 5 2010 // Specialty insurer Ironshore Inc. announced that Ben Beauvais will head the company’s domestic construction practice within its U.S. Specialty Casualty division, including the operations of IronBuilt. Beauvais, based...

200-Plus Construction Workers Denied Fair Wages by Drywall Co.

Apr 5 2010 // Calif. Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced that his office has secured back pay for more than 200 workers who were “routinely denied” fair wages and overtime pay by Charles Evleth Construction Inc.,...

Four Injured in Partial Collapse at Brooklyn Construction Site

Mar 31 2010 // Authorities are investigating a partial collapse at a construction site in Brooklyn where four workers were injured, one seriously. The Fire Department of New York and the Buildings Department were investigating the...

Insurance Agents: Get Ready for Green Building Exposures

Mar 30 2010 // An idyllic, pasture-like setting is not the only green image agribusiness owners would like the public to imagine when they picture their operations — they increasingly want to be known for their “green”...

OneBeacon Introduces Combination Policy for Contractors

Mar 30 2010 // OneBeacon has combined property, equipment breakdown, crime, contractors equipment, builders risk and installation in one policy for the construction industry. The Construction @vantage policy includes 25 new or enhanced...

Travelers Construction Develops Product for Tile Contractors

Mar 29 2010 // Travelers Construction Insurance has developed a new IndustryEdge product for tile contractors to help manage the need for additional insurance coverage and related services. The new IndustryEdge products include insurance...

8 New Markets in Response to Current Trends

Mar 22 2010 // Insurance Companies Generate New Programs to Bring in Additional Premium The last few years of the soft market have forced many carriers and agencies to get creative when it comes to bringing in additional premium. This...

Businesses Going Green

Mar 22 2010 // Green Building Features Left Exposed Under Traditional Commercial Property Policies With the U.S. Green Building Council forecasting growth in the green building market to double between now and 2013, agents and brokers...

Green Is Good, Right?

Mar 22 2010 // Insurers Monitoring Defects, Claims Tied to Green Building Products and Designs From wind turbines and fuel cells to vegetative roofs and bamboo surfaces, innovative green construction materials are showing up everywhere....

Zurich North America Commercial Names Rasor to Lead Construction Unit

Mar 11 2010 // Property and casualty insurance provider Zurich named Scott Rasor as head of Zurich North America Commercial’s Construction group. Rasor previously served as senior vice president for Construction, specializing in...