Latest Contractors Headlines

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

Feds Propose Stiff Fine for Alabama Military Contractor

Aug 29 2008 // The Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed $138, 500 in penalties for a Cullman, Alabama-based company for 31 safety and health violations. AAR Summa Technology has been singled out by the agency for 26...

Proposed New Coverages for N.Y. Export List

Aug 21 2008 // Primary and excess property insurance Contractors: Primary and excess liability coverage for general contractors, subcontractors and all construction trades for construction, building, demolition or renovation. Also Owners...

Texas High Court: Contractor Not at Fault in Jail Death

Aug 21 2008 // The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that the descendents of a man who was found hanged with a telephone cord in a jail cell have no standing to recover damages from the contractor that supplied the telephone. In JCW...

ACE Broadens Coverage for Contractor Equipment With New Alliance

Aug 20 2008 // The retail Inland Marine unit of ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail operating division of the ACE Group of Companies, teamed up with National Equipment Register (NER), a provider of a national database of heavy equipment...

RelMark Launches Risk Purchasing Group for Fire Sprinkler Industry

Aug 18 2008 // Chester Springs, Pennsylvania insurance program RelMark launched the Fire Sprinkler Risk Purchasing Group, Inc. offering fire sprinkler contractors’ general liability insurance and risk management needs. RelMark...

Court: California Homeowners Not Liable for Tree Trimmer’s Death

Aug 8 2008 // A homeowner is not vicariously criminally liable for the misdemeanor acts of a tree trimmer, the California Supreme Court decided. According to Maria Dolores Ramirez V. Thomas Nelson, a worker for an unlicensed contractor...

Two New York Contractors Face Workers’ Comp Fraud Charges

Aug 5 2008 // A New York contractor and the sub-contractor he hired are both facing charges of workers’ compensation fraud following their arrests by New York State Police. Police arrested Phillip Gish, 70, of East Aurora, N.Y. on...

Abram Interstate Offers New Market for General Contractors

Jul 23 2008 // Abram Interstate Insurance Services Inc. in Rocklin, Calif., is offering a new program for general contractors. Custom tailored coverage for residential and commercial projects is available. ACORD 125, 126, and...

New York Agents Support Expansion of Excess & Surplus Export List

Jul 23 2008 // Insurance agents and brokers in New York have called upon state officials to ease the rules for how agents obtain coverage for some high-risk policies. The Excess Line Association of New York has proposed adding dozens of...

Wildfires Bring Demand for Private Firefighters

Jul 17 2008 // Seated behind the wheel of a fire engine, Dave Breglia follows a map dotted with expensive homes threatened by wildfires. His job: protect high-end real estate and save an insurance company millions of dollars. “I...

Iowa Attorney General Warns About Scams After Tornadoes and Floods

Jul 16 2008 // Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Attorney General Tom Miller recently reminded Iowans to beware of a variety of scams in the wake of the tornadoes and floods over the last several weeks. “It’s the definition of adding...

Harnessing N.Y. City Contractors

Jul 7 2008 // New York contractors will now have to submit detailed plans for worker safety harness systems at high-rise construction sites. The city’s Department of Buildings told contractors that the new requirements are in...

When In Rome, Do As the Romans

Jul 7 2008 // Hint: Learn Before You Go The ancient expression “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” is used to warn friends and colleagues to respect and adapt to the culture of places that they visit. In the insurance...

When In Rome, Do As the Romans

Jul 7 2008 // Hint: Learn Before You Go The ancient expression “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” is used to warn friends and colleagues to respect and adapt to the culture of places that they visit. In the insurance...

Texas High Court Rules Contractor Not at Fault in Jail Death

Jul 3 2008 // The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that the descendents of a man who was found hanged with a telephone cord in a jail cell have no standing to recover damages from the contractor that supplied the telephone. In JCW...

Fleischman Joins Phoenix as Division President; Roberts Joins as EVP

Jun 25 2008 // Carole Fleischman has joined Red Bank, N.J.-based Phoenix Underwriting Managers, a national managing general agent (MGA) for specialty insurance programs, as president of its Managed Insurance Programs Division. Before...

Pennsylvania Debates Contractor Misclassifications

Jun 16 2008 // A bill to punish builders that avoid worker’s compensation fees and other costs by wrongly classifying workers as independent contractors was recently amended on the Pennsylvania House floor. The legislation aims to...

People

Jun 16 2008 // Golden Eagle Insurance, a Liberty Mutual Agency Markets regional company, appointed Pete McPartland president and CEO. McPartland comes from General Casualty in Sun Prairie, Wis., where he led insurance operations for QBE...

Contractors Should Consider How They Build Their Workforce

Jun 16 2008 // Should Subcontractors Be Hired as “Employees” or Independent Contractors? Two recent events remind the insurance industry of the importance of understanding the relationship of a worker at a construction site...

Building Commercial Construction Business in a Soft Market

Jun 16 2008 // Soft Market Emphasizes Need for Education, Communication It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Charles Dickens probably was not referring to the insurance industry’s soft market, when he wrote...