The ALS Group Risk Management Articles

While there is a bit of a pause in the construction development activity these days, there is some recent news out of New York and Texas regarding crane safety. Tuesday, January 9th, a crane collapsed in Manhattan injuring five people. According to the FDNY, four of the victim’s injuries were described to be minor, and one person was left with serious, but not life-threatening injuries. https://gothamist.com/news/5-injured-in-manhattan-crane-collapse-fdny-says In regards to the Texas Crane Collapse of 2019, a Dallas jury has awarded more than $860 Million to the family of one of the victims of the collapse. This is a solemn reminder of how important proper safety and controls are on any

Every significant construction project needs a Builders Risk policy. Sounds simple enough, but the process of procuring the correct Builders Risk policy starts with an understanding of the project costs, construction timeline, and imagining potential claim scenarios. When an insured purchases an insurance policy, there is an expectation if a loss occurs; the insurance company will make the insured whole again.  This only happens when a Builders Risk policy is designed correctly.  The key to policy design is understanding and identifying the values at risk and how those values align with the actual insurance policy definitions.

A case in point is the super sleek and very expensive Millennium Towers building in San Francisco. According to reports from independent consultants, the 58 story building has sunk about 16 inches and tilts about two inches to the Northwest. Settling is a natural process in any construction project and architects and engineers build that into their model; however, 16 inches since 2008 is a cause for concern. And, the sinking isn’t over. According to the August 9th article in Curbed San Francisco, the building is predicted to drop an additional eight to 15 inches into the ground.