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Insuring Contractors? Be Careful - It Can Be A Big E&O Headache
INSURING CONTRACTORS? BE CAREFUL - IT CAN BE A BIG E&O ...ions when the requested bonds are in excess of its bonding limits. This art...

... This content has not been rated yet. As every E&O attorney knows, a sizeable number of E&O claims against agents arise from agents trying to do a favor for an insured. That favor' often involves reading or reviewing contracts signed by the contractor, especially for agents who insure contractors. Mike Edwards discusses the importance of handling these favors properly and the consequences of not doing so. Agents are caught in a Catch-22 when it comes to reviewing contracts signed by their insureds. To run from the task would ... reflected inadequate limits, and that work must stop immediately until adequate limits could be obtained and verified. The contractor immediately called the agent, who was totally embarrassed by the oversight. Later that same day, the agent was able to obtain the additional $10 million excess quote for approximately $8 ,000 premium. The contractor was then angry that the additional premium was essentially going to have to come out of his profit on the job, since he hadn't figured this additional cost into his bid. He told his agent that ... should pay the additional premium, since it was the agent's error. Although this case hasn't yet gone to trial, an E&O attorney advised the agent not to pay the additional premium, no matter how embarrassed he was by the oversight. If the agent paid the $8 ,000 additional premium, it could easily be construed as admitting fault, which violates one of the key provisions of all E&O policies. Here's an excerpt from a typical policy: General Terms & Conditions. Reporting and Notice. Insured's ...

...specially for agents who insure contractors. Mike Edwards discusses the import...o any of the following: 1. Admit liability; 2. Participate in any settleme...

... they list the primary and all excess policies? I could not locate any specific legal precedent while researching this issue. It makes sense to list only those &# 160coverages applicable to the request for the cert. For example, when sending a certificate to a general contractor, you would probably need to list only the Workers Compensation, Liability and Umbrella coverages, not property. I d also suggest that an agent include all applicable policies (primary and excess) unless the request for the cert asks only for limit/coverage verification ... it might well have changed! Questions and Answers Several excellent questions at the conference warranted additional research: When an agent issues a certificate of insurance, is he or she legally obligated to list all applicable policies? For example, do they list the primary and all excess policies? I could not locate any specific legal precedent while researching this issue. It makes sense to list only those &# 160coverages applicable to the request for the cert. For example, when sending a certificate to a general contractor, you would probably need ... list only the Workers Compensation, Liability and Umbrella coverages, not property. I d also suggest that an agent include all applicable policies (primary and excess) unless the request for the cert asks only for limit/coverage verification up to a certain limit. When an agent issues a certificate but the excess policy excludes certain coverage (example: pollution), should the agent list the excess policy? If the certificate request is to show proof of Pollution coverage, the agent should not indicate on the cert any policies that exclude ...

... do they list the primary and all excess policies? I could not locate any spec...de you with certified copies of all Liability insurance policies in force for ...

...Measures the extent to which the excess of current assets over current liabil...

...et. The duty to perform is far in excess of the average retail business, but h...

...ivate Passenger Auto Liability, Contractors Liability, Auto Default insurance, Crane Rigging Contractors, Truck insurance, Yacht insurance,...

... 3 ) Happening or coming unexpectedly' (Merriam-Webster) . In other words, sudden' means unexpected or unforeseen, a surprise — and it appears likely that the insured did get a surprise. Here's another example, involving a Commercial Lines claim. The insured cement contractor was pouring a concrete driveway at a home in a new subdivision. As nightfall approached, he inadvertently caused cement to be splattered on a nearby garage door, necessitating its replacement at a cost of $827.69. The owner of the home made a claim for ... The policy defines a loss' to include direct and accidental loss of or damage to your car. Under the other-than-collision (OTC) coverage, the insuring agreement says, We will pay for loss except loss by collision, but only for the amount of such loss in excess of the deductible. So, for the insuring agreement to be triggered, there must be a loss. For there to be a loss, ' we must have direct and accidental loss. Note that we have a definition within a definition: loss' is essentially defined to ... two-thirds! Everybody wins! We argued that because the insured foresaw that the door could fall on him, it was an act of self-defense, triggering the exception. We also cited the state's bad faith settlement provision that's triggered when a claim isn't paid even though. liability has become reasonably clear. Although we provided 39 pages of authoritative documentation to support coverage, the carrier still refused to pay this $827.69 claim. At that point, the agent turned our file over to the insurance department. Their investigator telephoned the company on April ...

...ld, Chamberlain probably saves in excess of $60,000 a year and gains immeasura...