Last November, Pete Fowler and Cary White of Ideate Insurance held conference calls and invited participants from the insurance and legal communities that have a vested interest in learning about and sharing experiences with regards to building inspections and project insurance.
Why We Care
Projects are routinely inspected during construction by the superintendent, project manager and in some cases the engineers and architects. Also, City and/or County inspectors will check for code compliance. Some jurisdictions also require third-party inspection for the building envelope. Generally third-party inspections include: contractor, designer, manufacturer, municipal, financial, quality control and safety. The most important inspection is by the person doing the work.
We all remember the apartment balcony collapse last June in Berkeley. Had there been better supervision during and post construction, this accident would not have happened. Developers, general and subcontractors should hire professionals to review their plans and conduct inspections. Building owners should hire inspectors to survey their properties. In addition to the loss of life, this tragedy revealed that conventional project insurance is inadequate for a loss like this.
A wrap insurance policy can provide peace of mind knowing everyone involved in your project is insured properly. A wrap or wrap up insurance policy is a sweeping blanket coverage that protects the owner, the contractors and subcontractors.
When you are the owner or general contractor on a large construction project, you have a lot to think about. Completing the project on time and on budget, keeping your workers safe and making sure all subcontractors are doing quality work are only a few of your concerns. The last thing you want to worry about is whether or not your contractors and subcontractors are carrying the right kind of insurance.
Summary
The BEST builders have a process discipline of doing the preparatory work required for a project to run smoothly. Lots of builders and developers do NOT have the process discipline. For a bad builder, there is no such thing as enough inspections.
