New Construction Certification Aims to Specialize the Specialist

The construction risk is one of the toughest categories of businesses to insure. Insurance professionals are vulnerable from the first point of sale, according to Laurie Infantino, president of the Insurance Community University and Insight Insurance Consulting.

“The dynamics of the construction risk sale are overwhelming starting with the basics of really understanding the risk exposures; being made aware of the contractual risk assumptions and transfers that insureds are constantly signing off on and then designing appropriate coverage and limits for their insurance,” Infantino said.

Insurance professionals offering or specializing in the construction industry have to be experts and must stay current on changes in the industry affecting their construction clients.

If agents are going to specialize then they must have specialized training. That is why, in 2016, The Insurance Community/University launched the Certified Construction Insurance Program (CCIP). The program is spearheaded by the co-designers of the CISC designation: Marjorie Segale and Bob Marshburn. The CCIP offers construction education consisting of a series of 11 live, interactive webinars conducted the first Thursday of each month. Each session lasts two hours and is followed by a short multiple choice test sent digitally to the participants immediately following the class.

Infantino said they targeted the construction industry risk and insurance for its certification program for several reasons.

For one, insurance coverage forms and issues change daily for construction risks as new case law becomes effective in states, she said. “Insurance companies move in and out of the field and new markets emerge all in an effort to limit exposure; adequately charge for exposure and to remain profitable in writing general liability for the construction risk.”

Changing building laws and codes are also a constant concern.

Economic conditions also affect the market. “The construction industry has always been a target for the hard market and tied in closely to economic cycles,” Infantino said.

Exposures and construction contracts for contractors are in constant flux as well. “Whether it’s new jobs or different types of jobs, signing different construction contracts that contain new requirements, or the constant insurance concern relating to all the construction relationships such as subs, the sub-subs, the sub-sub-subs, developer, suppliers. The list goes on,” Infantino said.

“That is why there are so many certificates of insurance that have to be issued for construction clients,” Infantino added. “The number of parties involved in a construction risk makes understanding the relationship critical and the acceptance/transfer of risk between those parties all direct how the coverage is to be issued.”

Specialized insurance education is essential and the wave of the future, Infantino said. “The construction certification is seen as validation of the insurance professional’s commitment to their customers and the insurance industry.”

To learn more about the certification, visit the website at www.insurancecommunityuniversity.com and click on the “learn more about CCIP” link.