Construction

The IRMI Conference is coming up again in November so I thought I'd reflect on the past 12 months and look forward to what lies ahead in the Construction industry.

It was one of the hot topics at our inaugural three day construction insurance "Boot Camp" in Chicago a couple of weeks ago.  This was the first time we'd taken our "Boot Camp" out of London and we were delighted with the response we've had to our week long training.  We're thankful to the speakers from Munich Re and Zachry Holdings who supported JLT experts in delivering such a quality programme.

I found that among the delegates the general consensus was that it's been an "interesting" year.  So far 2010 has been slower than 2009 business-wise, and who knows where the US economy is heading?  This is relevant to us all, because the USA economy is a global driving force.  Will there be a "double dip" or will there be green shoots showing by the beginning of 2011? 

In the UK, major project new starts are slow, and a number of new P3's (known as PFI's in the UK) have been cancelled or postponed.  There has been far less USA regeneration type projects coming to London for insurance than we had originally and perhaps naively hoped for.

The predicted boom in renewable power plant projects has yet to fully occur, but in the last three months we have bid on three monster nuclear projects around the world, the biggest coming in at a contract value of over USD 20bn! On the positive side, global construction insurance capacity remains plentiful and markets remain soft and receptive"

Where do you think the construction insurance market and/or the economy is heading?  I would be really interested in hearing your opinion, so either respond to this blog below, e-mail me or catch up with me and my colleagues at IRMI.  We are staying at the Peabody so look forward to the "Duck Show" but guess it will get old pretty soon! In any event, we look forward to seeing you in Orlando.

For further information on the IRMI event, please click below:
The JLT Team at IRMI

Two London market underwriters, CV Starr and Torus, have just announced initiatives that will provide new lead umbrella casualty capacity for US Construction risks. If you would like more information then please contact me (+44 207 528 4876) or my colleague, Paul Woodward (+44 207 558 3970). 

This blog was written by Galen Brisbane who worked as a Casualty broker within the Construction Division at JLT, from 2005 to September 2010.

1. Deal in FACTS not PERCEPTIONS - on many occasions we have marketed a risk to an insurer who was hesitant to commit because of perceptions they had regarding prototype issues - once we addressed these issues with facts, the insurers usually came on board.

Since 2004 JLT's construction unit has been at the forefront of product development in respect of casualty capabilities for residential homebuilders in the US, both custom and tract. We were the first intermediary to successfully encourage excess markets, both in London and Bermuda, to follow form of Zurich's Home Builders' Protective Policy. 

This blog was written by Galen Brisbane who worked as a Casualty broker within the Construction Division at JLT, from 2005 to September 2010.

Twelve new insurers and existing carriers improving their game - result: competitive market competing across the board with the local US insurers, no matter the size, type or location of a construction project and especially competitive for heavier type risks.

I was recently asked a question "how does the London market differ in its approach to the insurance of infrastructure/P3 projects?"  The questioner had heard all about the London market's flexibility but wanted some real life examples.  This got me thinking, perhaps he's not alone and we London market brokers focus on the big picture (flexibility, experience, knowledge) when we need to make it real.  Well here are some of the recent examples I used to answer the question and which I hope will help you: