Related Links: A Bold Individual Surety Claims His Bonds Are Rock Solid Big Insurance Broker Backpedals on Offer of Individual Surety The National Association of Surety Bond Producers, a trade association of surety brokers, is claiming a major victory in its campaign against surety fraud after Maryland lawmakers failed to renew a 2006 state law that partly opened the door to the use of individual surety on state projects. The lawmakers' inaction followed a state agency review that found the law produced no benefit in helping small contractors win work.The statute had been set to sunset once before, but state
Photo Courtesy of U.S. Senate Photo Studio and Office of Sen. Carl Levin Senate panel chair Levin wants to close "loophole" for tax transfers like Caterpillar's. Related Links: Senate investigations subcommittee report on Caterpillar overseas taxes Sen. Levin's prepared opening statement from April 1 hearing No one can say Sen. Carl Levin has gone after small fry in investigating U.S. companies' overseas tax policies. The Michigan Democrat has held a series of hearings focusing on Apple, Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard and now has turned his attention to heavy-equipment giant Caterpillar Inc.The Senate Homeland Security Committee's permanent subcommittee on investigations, which Levin
Related Links: How Radisson Hotel Owners Stiffed the Subs in Wisconsin The subcontractors who worked on the Radisson hotel renovation project in Menomonee Falls, Wis., in 2010 and 2011 might soon receive their long-overdue payments. After the developer defaulted on its loans shortly after the hotel opened, the prospect of collecting anything was uncertain.The Menomonee Falls Village Board, which had loaned the developer millions, approved a settlement agreement on March 3 that would establish a $400,000 fund to pay subcontractors that have filed claims.The fate of the settlement was be discussed in Waukesha County circuit court on March 31 in
Related Links: Mounting Losses from Fake Chubb Bonds Is a contractor that has been caught submitting a fraudulent surety bond and being cheated out of the premium capable of obtaining surety credit from licensed brokers and Treasury-listed sureties? In at least one case, the answer is yes.A small general contractor in Colorado, Terravision Contracting Group, replaced the fraudulent bond it purchased for a small renovation project with one from a Treasury-listed surety, completed the project on time and under budget and moved on to bid for and win another project from the same owner. Another 21 contractors are known to
Past experience posted by Steven Golia summarizes his accomplishments at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and IBCS Group. Steven Golia, a leading promoter of controversial individual surety bonds, no longer works for national insurance-surety broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., the company confirms. Golia had become an employee in January after Gallagher acquired McIntyre Risk Management, a Cherry Hill, N.J. broker for whom he had apparently worked since late last year.Now based in Haddonfield, N.J., Golia had announced in an email newsletter after the acquisition that the new parent would be managing general agent for individual surety bonds from surety
About two out of three of the 14 leading providers of liability insurance to design professionals say they paid a claim of $1 million or more in 2013, and about one out of five report that their largest claim was between $10 million and $19 million.That was one of many facts and trends reported in the annual survey of most large professional liability insurers by Ames & Gough, the Washington, D.C.-based broker. The survey shows that 2013 was a second consecutive year of modest premium price gains by the insurers.According to the survey, rate increases on renewal of 2% to
A state court in Texas restored some order to U.S. contractors' general liability insurance, limiting insurers’ efforts to narrow what is considered an “occurrence” covered under a policy. Insurers have been trying to eliminate coverage for defects in the contractor’s own work.The issue has come up in several states in recent years, and state legislatures have stepped in several times to restore coverage through laws.The current case originated in Texas and was widely watched as a bellwether.In an opinion issued January 17, Judge Phil Johnson of the Texas Supreme Court ruled that general contractors don’t “assume liability” for damages arising
Courtesy Canadian Fuels Association Greenhouse gas emitters, such as a Shell refinery in Quebec, pictured above, can now trade carbon credits purchased in the Canadian province or in the state of California. Related Links: EPA Proposes to Cut Carbon Emissions at New Powerplants Climate Change Plan Offers Opportunities for Innovation The governments of California and Québec have become the first in North America to link their greenhouse-gas cap-and-trade systems, enabling companies to swap GHG emission allowances or credits in a joint carbon market. The agreement, which took effect on Jan. 1, follows new regulations in both jurisdictions requiring companies to
Standard and Poor's Standard and Poors Ratings Service report highlights private-public partnerships. Related Links: Standard & Poor's report Pension funds, insurance companies and other big institutional investors could help shrink the mammoth $500-billion-a-year worldwide infrastructure financing gap by 2030 if they follow through on meeting their own investment-mix goals, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service says in a new report.In its report, released on Jan. 16, S&P estimates institutional investors could contribute as much as $200 billion a year for infrastructure between now and 2030—or a total of $3.2 trillion during that span. (S&P and ENR are units of McGraw Hill
City of Ottawa The Civic Centre in Ottawa includes Lansdowne Park, where corrosion issues have added to costs. City of Ottawa Elevation of Lansdowne Park in Canada shows box girders and seating tray. Corroded steel in the roof structure over the open-air seating tray and other parts of the stadium-arena reconstruction at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa has added an unexpected $17 million (C) to the cost. The debate over who foots the bill is changing the terms of the city's deal with its redevelopment partner, Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG).According to the original terms of the partnership, OSEG would