Latest Contractors Headlines

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

Insurers Respond to Rising Claims Abuse

Aug 7 2017 // Whenever severe weather strikes and there is property damage, insurers are among the first responders to help throughout the recovery process. However, in too many cases, some shady contractors, public adjusters and...

Best of 2017 (so far)

Aug 2 2017 // It’s hard to believe, but 2017 is already more than half way through. There is much to write about these days from insuretech and blockchain to the political drivers of insurance, including the pending expiration...

ProSight Specialty Launches All-lines Marine Contractors Insurance Program

Jul 26 2017 // ProSight Specialty Insurance has launched its Longshore+ Marine Contractors program, with the goal of unifying all lines of marine insurance under a single carrier.The package offering provides the following coverages:...

Texas Lawmaker Seeks to Limit Austin’s Construction Site Worker Protections

Jul 19 2017 // Note: This article originally appeared in the Texas Tribune.Cesar Ovalde has been working in the construction industry for the better part of 15 years. Most of the time, he’s working on large commercial projects, and...

Renovation at the Deli; A Story About Additional Insureds

Jul 19 2017 // One of the primary questions that have to be asked about an insurance policy is: who is an insured? Every policy has language that defines and limits who is eligible to find coverage there. On the CGL policy, the question...

Florida Insurers Place All Options on Table to Address AOB Abuse

Jul 19 2017 // Florida’s home insurers hope the public doesn’t blame them as they implement rate increases, initiate coverage changes and nonrenew policies. They say they have no choice after the Florida Legislature for the...

Contractor Cuts Texas Oil Pipeline; 1,200 Barrels of Crude Spilled

Jul 17 2017 // Authorities say about 50,000 gallons of crude oil spilled after a contractor accidentally cut an underground pipeline in Central Texas.A spokesman for Magellan Midstream Partners, Bruce Heine, says the contractor was...

Michigan Court Sides with Westfield Insurance in ‘Employee/Contractor’ Case

Jul 10 2017 // The Michigan Court of Appeals has reversed the ruling of a trial court in a case involving whether a commercial insurer or a personal insurer is responsible for paying no-fault personal injury protection benefits when a...

Opinion: Floridians Will Pay More For Less Under Citizens Managed Repair Program

Jul 6 2017 // Florida is famous for its catastrophic hurricanes, however, we also have our fair share of daily claims such as fire, vandalism and water losses. Florida is now becoming known for what is referred to as the...

Missouri Plumbing Contractor Hit with $714K in Fines Over Trench Collapse

Jun 28 2017 // A month after a 33-year-old worker died while working in an unprotected trench, U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors found another employee of the same Missouri plumbing...

Regulator Fines Contractor Following Oregon Bridge Incident

Jun 21 2017 // A contractor has been fined nearly $200,000 for violations discovered after two workers were injured in a mishap on Portland, Ore.’s Ross Island Bridge. Oregon OSHA announced the penalty Monday, following an...

Michigan Court Rules for Westfield Insurance in ‘Employee v. Contractor’ Case

Jun 20 2017 // The Michigan Court of Appeals has reversed the ruling of a trial court in a case involving whether a commercial insurer or a personal insurer is responsible for paying no-fault personal injury protection benefits when a...

Tech Targets Construction Risk Management

Jun 19 2017 // Water sensors that detect leaks before a lot of damage is done, wearables that track workers’ whereabouts and video cameras that monitor sites — the building industry is gradually adopting these and other...

XL Catlin Launches New Contractors Pollution Liability Express Program

Jun 15 2017 // XL Catlin has launched its new Contractors Pollution Liability Express Program in the US and Canada for small to mid-size construction firms.According to Cathy Cleary, XL Catlin’s executive environmental underwriter,...

American Family Disagrees with Jury Finding that Agents Are Employees

May 15 2017 // A federal jury in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 18 determined that thousands of agents with Madison, Wisconsin-based (AmFam) are employees, not independent contractors.The insurer stands by its classification practice and says...

Bunker, Startup Broker for Small Business, Contractor Insurance, Raises $6 Million

May 11 2017 // Bunker, a startup digital insurance broker focused on independent contractors and small businesses, has raised $6 million in Series A funding that will help fuel product development and expansion. Hiscox and American...

Settlement Reached in Connecticut Christmas Fire that Killed Five

May 5 2017 // A Connecticut city on Tuesday announced that it has settled a lawsuit filed by the family of three girls who died in a Christmas morning house fire that also killed their grandparents.Terms of the settlement announced by...

Cunningham Joins American Risk Management Resources in Wisconsin

May 3 2017 // Jeff Cunningham has joined American Risk Management Resources Network LLC (ARMR) in Madison, Wis., as director of underwriting for its managing general agency through Berkley Specialty. Cunningham leads the MGA, which...

Ohio Jury Says American Family Agents Are Employees; Insurer Disagrees

Apr 28 2017 // A federal jury in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 18 determined that thousands of agents with Madison, Wisconsin-based American Family Mutual Insurance (AmFam) are employees, not independent contractors.According to a news...

Family Sues Mental Health Contractor in Oregon Bridge Suicide

Apr 20 2017 // The family of a woman who jumped off the Astoria Bridge in northwestern Oregon seeks nearly $1 million in a lawsuit filed against a county mental health contractor.The lawsuit filed Saturday alleges Clatsop Behavioral...