The ALS Group Risk Management Articles

We manage more than a quarter billion dollars of premiums for a diverse range of clients around the globe. 

Pokémon Go and Construction Site Safety

Pokémon Go and Construction Site Safety

Have you protected your worksite from Rattata yet? How about Pidgey or Staryu? Who? They’re just a few characters from Pokémon Go, the augmented reality game craze that’s got people showing up at PokéStops in all sorts of random places, hoping to track down Pokémon characters on their mobile devices. With more than 30 million users (more than 20 million registered users in the US alone), the game takes players out into real world locations, including retail stores, office buildings, train stations and even construction sites.

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The Battle Between “Blanket” Additional Insured Endorsement and the Underlying Contract

The construction and real estate industry continue to grow and so do the risk exposures from a fundamental inconsistency between a contract’s commercial intent and insurance policy language. “Additional Insured” is a very common requirement in a real estate or construction contract and many times there is a distinct lack of specificity with what is, actually, being required and why the provision is appropriate.  Additional Insured status provides vicarious liability coverage to an outside entity, usually, an owner or general contractor, under the subcontractor’s policy. It is often a requirement in construction contracts, and it can be the source of insurance disputes if not handled correctly given the changes in

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Defense Costs – In Addition to My Limits?

One of the areas often overlooked, but vital to an insured, is the defense costs coverage a liability policy provides. As some insureds may be aware, there are two types of defense costs payments, those policies that pay “in addition” to the limits and those whose payments are “within” the policy limits.

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High-Powered Construction Equipment Requires High-Powered Risk Protection

In 2012, the most recent year for which data is available, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 849 construction worker fatalities. Crane accidents make up a large number of these deaths and an even greater number of construction-related injuries each year.  Not only can a crane accident cause significant injury to workers on a construction site, but it can also cause injury and death to innocent passersby of the site.  Given the risk associated with crane operation on a construction site, what should you – owners and contractors – do to mitigate this risk and limit your exposure?

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Indemnity in Construction Contracts

Contracts, Insurance and Certificates…..the saga continues…. As a follow-up to my colleague’s recent post in Construction Executive, I wanted to emphasize the need for properly written contracts.  In construction projects, the contract documents form the basis of the agreement between the parties involved in the project. Written construction contracts impose many duties, obligations and liabilities on contractors. Although project owners pay great attention to the operational issues addressed in these contracts, many pay too little attention to the risk and insurance implications of various contract provisions.

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OCIP Language Creates Third-party Beneficiary

In a disturbing ruling by the Georgia Court of Appeals on October 5th 2011, the interpretation of language in an OCIP Program sponsored by the Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport was held to create a third-party beneficiary relationship for the estate of the injured worker. The contract stated the city’s OCIP was “to provide one master insurance program that provides broad coverages with high limits that will benefit all participants involved in project”.

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OCIP/CCIP Enrollment – Contractor Beware!

Controlled Insurance Programs (CIP) are becoming more and more common today but a contractor must be very careful to examine the terms and conditions of the CIP carefully as this may be their sole source of coverage. One of the most misunderstood issues is what happens when a CIP is cancelled. Virtually every CIP program has a section in the “manual” that allows for the program to be cancelled with some notice (hopefully) to the contractor. In many cases it could be a short as 30 days. What happens to the bid-deducts? Can you now submit a change order to increase your cost to Include insurance? Does the work you

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Our areas of expertise include:

  • Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)
  • Cyber Security & Cyber Liability Insurance
  • Construction Management
  • Customized Risk Management Assessments (RMAs)

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