2021 Surety Bonding and Construction Risk Management Conference Agenda

Join Us In-Person June 2-4, 2021 in Bonita Springs, FL

*Please note that the agenda is subject to change.

**AGC intends to offer 5 of the breakout sessions included in the conference for Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit – CLICK HERE to see AGC’s CLE brochure.

Day One

June 2, 2021

7:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Pre-Conference Meetings For In-House Lawyers & In-House Risk Managers

Preceding the June 2021 events, AGC will hold separate meetings for the in-house lawyers and risk managers in the AGC family. While primarily intended for such professionals, these meetings are open to everyone working for construction companies. Their goal is to provide an opportunity for peer-to-peer discussion of the biggest challenges for today’s construction firms.

4:30 PM - 4:45 PM

Opening Remarks

Remarks made by:

Ted G. Wickenhauser, Senior Vice President, Risk Management,
McCarthy Holdings, Inc., Chairman of AGC’s Surety Bonding and Construction Risk Management Forum

Les Snyder, President, Shikun & Binui America, Vice Chairman of the Board,
i+iconUSA, Vice President of AGC of America

4:45 PM - 6:00 PM

Pandemic Impacts, Policy Initiatives, and Project Implications

General Session

This panel will set the stage for the conference with an overview of current economic conditions and likely developments regarding the impact of the pandemic and new or potential federal policies on construction. Longtime industry consultant Julian Anderson will review the effect that the pandemic has had on project starts and costs in different markets. Investment analyst Noelle Dilts will dig into the prospects for several growing project types in light of changing laws and regulations. AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson will add his perspective on spending, costs, and labor availability.

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Welcome Reception

Open to all attendees

Sponsored by:

Day Two

June 3, 2021

7:00 AM - 8:00 AM

Breakfast

Open to all attendees

Sponsored by:

8:00 AM - 9:15 AM

The C-Suite Viewpoint on Risk and Business Strategy in 2021

General Session

Three executives discuss top-of-mind issues related to risk in today’s post-pandemic business environment.

9:15 AM - 9:45 AM

Networking Break

Sponsored by:

9:45 AM - 10:45 AM

Breakout Sessions

Despite being one of the most common impacts on a construction project, lost productivity is not easily discerned and even more difficult to calculate and substantiate. This session will detail and evaluate the various ways that a contractor can approach a productivity claim, provide guidance on best practices for project management and field personnel on how to keep records that could support a lost productivity analysis and discuss how courts have ruled on these types of claims.

Learning Objectives:
1) Discover various methods used to evaluate productivity impacts
2) Learn best practices for record-keeping and project tracking to preserve and prosecute productivity claims
3) Learn how productivity impacts are calculated
4) Gain a synopsis of select relevant court rulings and legal decisions related to productivity claims

Speakers:
Jeffrey Katz, PE, Vice President
The Vertex Companies, Inc.

Mariela Malfeld, Partner
Watt, Tieder, Hoffar, & Fitzgerald, L.L.P.

Lauren Rankins, Associate
Watt, Tieder, Hoffar, & Fitzgerald, L.L.P.

Andrew Sargent, PSP, Managing Consultant
The Vertex Companies, Inc.

Rachel Walsh, Regional Vice President, Surety Claims – Northeast Region
Liberty Mutual Surety

Don’t miss knowledge sharing and lively discussion with an SDI Carrier, Surety, Agent/Broker, and CPA on current circumstances and challenges in financial prequalification. The panel will uncover the most important changes they are tackling today in their prequalification work and plans looking ahead. Bring your questions and opinions: We can all learn from one another on the best approaches to getting contractors and subcontractors prequalified to bid on and build projects.

Learning Objectives:
1) Discuss the nature of the increased intensity of financial conditions
2) Generate ideas and best practices for a “go forward” plan
3) Turn communication and conversation into a mutual advantage

Speakers:
Sam Audia, Vice President Surety
McGriff Insurance Services

Nathan Espe, Executive Vice President
Cove Programs Insurance Services

Michael Fay, Senior Vice President, Chief Underwriting Officer, Surety
Crum & Forster

Jon Zeiler, CCIFP, Audit Partner
Crowe LLP

This session will discuss how wildfire has become an important peril over the last five years and the damage that it has caused. The panel will go into the insurance industry’s response to this peril and how insurers can better manage this exposure. Specifically, the panelists will hit on the market challenges and provide some points to consider regarding how contractors can lower their risk of losses, better position themselves from a loss control perspective, and make their business more attractive to insurers. The session will be applicable to multiple lines of insurance – CGL, excess, builders risk and cover topics such as hot works and soot damage. The discussion will also include how brokers, insureds, and underwriters can work together to better manage nat cat exposures.

Learning Objectives:
1) Understand the science behind wildfires and industry losses so far
2) Learn how to properly assess the wildfire exposure and how they are modeled for builders risk policies
3) Discuss wording and coverages
4) Dive into actions to mitigate wildfire risk on project sites, including alternative insurance solutions

Speakers:
Eugene Choi, Deputy Engineering Lines Lead Underwriter
HDI Global Insurance

W. Milton Smith, CRIS, CIC, Senior Vice President
McGriff, Seibels & Williams

Join this expert panel to better understand how cyber exposures and threats can be financially and reputationally devastating to the construction industry, impacting both insureds and insurers. Come learn how a firm can treat this risk through proper vetting, insurance, and contractual mechanisms. During the session, you will hear how a cyber incident can materially disrupt a project (subcontractor attack or attack to GC’s own systems/equipment), including real-life examples of vendor-related and contractor-specific incidents. Become aware of available cybersecurity controls and commit to implementing them.

Learning Objectives:
1) Raise awareness of increased ransomware attacks, in both frequency and severity
2) Discuss the cost of these claims, including ransom demands, forensic costs, business interruption and remediation, recovery, and restoration expense
3) Understand regulatory exposures, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), New York’s SHIELD Act, and other statutory mandates
4) Explore risk management solutions, both technical and contractual
5) Hear about cyber insurance solutions, including a high-level product overview

Speakers:
Jennifer Beckage, Esq., CIPP/US, CIPP/E, Founder and Data Security Lawyer
Beckage

Patrick Duggan, Vice President of Risk and Corporate Secretary
Power Construction Company, LLC

John Merchant, Managing Director, Cyber & Technology Risk Practice-NA
Optio Group

Nick Graf, ARM, CISSP, CEH, FIP, AVP of Information Security
CNA – Specialty Risk Control

10:45 AM - 11:05 AM

Networking Break

Sponsored by:

11:05 AM - 12:05 PM

Breakout Sessions [Repeated]

Despite being one of the most common impacts on a construction project, lost productivity is not easily discerned and even more difficult to calculate and substantiate. This session will detail and evaluate the various ways that a contractor can approach a productivity claim, provide guidance on best practices for project management and field personnel on how to keep records that could support a lost productivity analysis and discuss how courts have ruled on these types of claims.

Learning Objectives:
1) Discover various methods used to evaluate productivity impacts
2) Learn best practices for record-keeping and project tracking to preserve and prosecute productivity claims
3) Learn how productivity impacts are calculated
4) Gain a synopsis of select relevant court rulings and legal decisions related to productivity claims

Speakers:
Jeffrey Katz, PE, Vice President
The Vertex Companies, Inc.

Mariela Malfeld, Partner
Watt, Tieder, Hoffar, & Fitzgerald, L.L.P.

Lauren Rankins, Associate
Watt, Tieder, Hoffar, & Fitzgerald, L.L.P.

Andrew Sargent, PSP, Managing Consultant
The Vertex Companies, Inc.

Rachel Walsh, Regional Vice President, Surety Claims – Northeast Region
Liberty Mutual Surety

Don’t miss knowledge sharing and lively discussion with an SDI Carrier, Surety, Agent/Broker, and CPA on current circumstances and challenges in financial prequalification. The panel will uncover the most important changes they are tackling today in their prequalification work and plans looking ahead. Bring your questions and opinions: We can all learn from one another on the best approaches to getting contractors and subcontractors prequalified to bid on and build projects.

Learning Objectives:
1) Discuss the nature of the increased intensity of financial conditions
2) Generate ideas and best practices for a “go forward” plan
3) Turn communication and conversation into a mutual advantage

Speakers:
Sam Audia, Vice President Surety
McGriff Insurance Services

Nathan Espe, Executive Vice President
Cove Programs Insurance Services

Michael Fay, Senior Vice President, Chief Underwriting Officer, Surety
Crum & Foster

Jon Zeiler, CCIFP, Audit Partner
Crowe LLP

This session will discuss how wildfire has become an important peril over the last five years and the damage that it has caused. The panel will go into the insurance industry’s response to this peril and how insurers can better manage this exposure. Specifically, the panelists will hit on the market challenges and provide some points to consider regarding how contractors can lower their risk of losses, better position themselves from a loss control perspective, and make their business more attractive to insurers. The session will be applicable to multiple lines of insurance – CGL, excess, builders risk and cover topics such as hot works and soot damage. The discussion will also include how brokers, insureds, and underwriters can work together to better manage nat cat exposures.

Learning Objectives:
1) Understand the science behind wildfires and industry losses so far
2) Learn how to properly assess the wildfire exposure and how they are modeled for builders risk policies
3) Discuss wording and coverages
4) Dive into actions to mitigate wildfire risk on project sites, including alternative insurance solutions

Speakers:
Eugene Choi, Deputy Engineering Lines Lead Underwriter
HDI Global Insurance

W. Milton Smith, CRIS, CIC, Senior Vice President
McGriff, Seibels & Williams

Join this expert panel to better understand how cyber exposures and threats can be financially and reputationally devastating to the construction industry, impacting both insureds and insurers. Come learn how a firm can treat this risk through proper vetting, insurance, and contractual mechanisms. During the session, you will hear how a cyber incident can materially disrupt a project (subcontractor attack or attack to GC’s own systems/equipment), including real-life examples of vendor-related and contractor-specific incidents. Become aware of available cybersecurity controls and commit to implementing them.

Learning Objectives:
1) Raise awareness of increased ransomware attacks, in both frequency and severity
2) Discuss the cost of these claims, including ransom demands, forensic costs, business interruption and remediation, recovery, and restoration expense
3) Understand regulatory exposures, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), New York’s SHIELD Act, and other statutory mandates
4) Explore risk management solutions, both technical and contractual
5) Hear about cyber insurance solutions, including a high-level product overview

Speakers:
Jennifer Beckage, Esq., CIPP/US, CIPP/E, Founder and Data Security Lawyer
Beckage

Patrick Duggan, Vice President of Risk and Corporate Secretary
Power Construction Company, LLC

Nick Graf, ARM, CISSP, CEH, FIP, AVP of Information Security
CNA – Specialty Risk Control

John Merchant, Managing Director, Cyber & Technology Risk Practice – NA
Optio Group

12:05 PM - 1:00 PM

Lunch

Open to all attendees

Sponsored by:

1:00 PM - 2:15 PM

Top 10 Changes That Bond Producers, Insurance Brokers and In-House Risk Managers Are Seeing or Expecting in the Near Term

General Session

Risk professionals need to be aware of changes that are likely to impact the risk landscape. This panel of go-to-experts will help you evaluate the potential liabilities your firm may face and key in on conditions and trends that are likely to be more intensely scrutinized in the near future. Also, find out about emerging opportunities to reduce costs and increase efficiencies for all risk partners. Come and better understand how the insurance and surety industries are reacting. Gain insights on how to present as a better risk for underwriters. The goal is to challenge the thought leaders in the construction, surety, and insurance industries to take a critical look at their policies, practices, and procedures, and to identify their opportunities for further improvement. The companies that approach the marketplace with a forward-looking view will be better prepared to adapt.

2:15 PM - 2:45 PM

Networking Break

Sponsored by:

2:45 PM - 3:45 PM

Breakout Sessions

The program will address emerging issues with SDI claims/coverage and will identify certain lessons learned from defaulting subcontractors during a pandemic. As the SDI market expands to different providers, the panel will encourage a dialogue with the audience focused on the SDI claims process and handling, including calculation of direct and indirect costs, and events constituting defaults of performance. The panel will address contractual and strategic issues associated with defaulting subcontractors as well as any related case law developments. Subrogation rights will be explored as well as the parties’ respective rights to any such recovery. Finally, the panel will analyze relevant restrictions or limitations on SDI claims/coverage to help inform these strategic decisions, including dispute resolution procedures.

Learning Objectives:
1) Be aware of the rapidly changing SDI marketplace
2) Know how the carriers are changing the ways in which they evaluate and pay Direct Cost v. Indirect Cost claims and how to navigate this new coverage landscape
3) Review the importance of going back-to-basics with respect to claims handling, documentation and proofs (compliance with policy notice provisions, effective default strategies, and how subcontract language influences the scope of potential coverage)
4) Discuss how and the degree to which COVID-19 has affected subcontractor defaults and claims

Speakers:
Gregory Chertoff, Partner
Peckar & Abramson, P.C.

John Marsicano – CCA, CCP, CRIS, Director of SDI Claims and Financial Advisory Services Construction N.A
Willis Towers Watson

Jeffrey Vita, Partner
Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.

This panel will take a deep dive into the surety bonding needs of the construction industry. The discussion will provide an assessment of bonds as they are typically offered in today’s marketplace, including their strengths and shortcomings. Then, don’t miss your chance to hear a General Contractor, a large purchaser of bonding, and two Sureties — all members of the “ConsensusDocs Bond Form Working Group” — offer a case study and a path forward on how to establish common ground between the buyers of surety bonds and the needs of a surety for a reasonably writeable risk. The program will address issues commonly encountered in the claims process such as the right of self-help, remedy/mitigation using subcontract funds, and the timing of the surety’s response.

Learning Objectives:
1) Understand what a surety bond buyer is expecting when it makes a claim under a performance or payment bond
2) Understand why, although an “all risk” surety bond might be attractive in the market, such bonds would not be reasonably available in the market
3) Gain insight into the collaboration that produced a new set of bond forms to meet the current needs of the construction and surety industries
4) Discuss key provisions of the new ConsensusDocs bond forms

Speakers:
Robert Duke, Vice President and Surety Counsel
Markel Surety

Gregory Horne, AVP – Contract Surety Underwriting Officer
Liberty Mutual Surety

Robert Majerus, Vice President and General Counsel
Hensel Phelps Construction Co.

Kimberly Zanotta, Assistant Vice President & Counsel
Travelers Casualty & Surety Company

Mass Timber – which includes CLT (cross-laminated timber) and other large dimension engineered wood products – is gaining more acceptance in code and across the industry. In addition to the potential speed, cost savings, and simplicity of mass timber construction, buildings constructed of mass timber will sequester and store carbon in ways that conventionally constructed buildings cannot, and its production has a smaller carbon footprint than metal or concrete building materials. For all these reasons, there is little doubt that we will be seeing more mass timber incorporated into projects. This session will include a look at the current and future state of this type of construction, risks and potential benefits it presents, and related insurance challenges, and address ways in which your organization can be ready to make smart decisions around whether – and how – to pursue and manage this work.

Learning Objectives:
1) Learn the definition of mass timber
2) Understand its history and future based on what is being incorporated into the 2021 IBC
3) Identify potential benefits and risks and of this construction type
4) Gain clarity on the challenges of insuring these projects

Speakers:
Cheri Hanes, CRIS, LEED AP, Senior Construction Risk Engineer, SDI
AXA XL, a division of AXA

Soyoung Lee, Senior Vice President
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Michelle Luster, Risk Manager
Swinerton Incorporated

Graham Montgomery, PE, SE, Technical Director
Timberlab (a Swinerton Company)

This cutting-edge session will focus on strategies to deploy technologies on projects; effectiveness of various use cases of technology in the marketplace; challenges of testing new technologies; applying technology to claims and disputes; insurance strategies surrounding technology and its effects on risk and other related subjects. The panel will share the findings of a recent market survey on risk-based technologies — shedding light on technological priorities, obstacles to adoption, and what’s currently being used by the AEC industry to manage construction risk. Join this panel of industry experts as they share insights in their areas of expertise and come ready to opine on various market perspectives.

Learning Objectives:
1) Discover advanced technologies in the market today
2) Learn of challenges and processes to deploy technologies on projects
3) Discuss ways to navigate unproven technologies
4) Identify strategies for collaborating across multiple companies on technology projects
5) Gain insights into technology market gaps and micro-segmentation of tech solutions

Speakers:

Rose Hall, Vice President, Head of Construction Innovation – North America Construction
AXA XL, a division of AXA

Dale Hendershot, Owner and Managing Member
Hendershot Consulting, LLC

Andrew Lindsey, Director of Applied Research & Development
Alpha Corporation

Joshua Rogove, President
Consolidated Risk Solutions

3:45 PM - 4:05 PM

Networking Break

Sponsored by:

4:05 PM - 5:05 PM

Breakout Sessions [Repeated]

The program will address emerging issues with SDI claims/coverage and will identify certain lessons learned from defaulting subcontractors during a pandemic. As the SDI market expands to different providers, the panel will encourage a dialogue with the audience focused on the SDI claims process and handling, including calculation of direct and indirect costs, and events constituting defaults of performance. The panel will address contractual and strategic issues associated with defaulting subcontractors as well as any related case law developments. Subrogation rights will be explored as well as the parties’ respective rights to any such recovery. Finally, the panel will analyze relevant restrictions or limitations on SDI claims/coverage to help inform these strategic decisions, including dispute resolution procedures.

Learning Objectives:
1) Be aware of the rapidly changing SDI marketplace
2) Know how the carriers are changing the ways in which they evaluate and pay Direct Cost v. Indirect Cost claims and how to navigate this new coverage landscape
3) Review the importance of going back-to-basics with respect to claims handling, documentation and proofs (compliance with policy notice provisions, effective default strategies, and how subcontract language influences the scope of potential coverage)
4) Discuss how and the degree to which COVID-19 has affected subcontractor defaults and claims

Speakers:
Gregory Chertoff, Partner
Peckar & Abramson, P.C.

John Marsicano – CCA, CCP, CRIS
Director of SDI Claims and Financial Advisory Services
Construction N.A
Willis Towers Watson

Jeffrey Vita, Partner
Saxe Doernberger & Vita, P.C.

This panel will take a deep dive into the surety bonding needs of the construction industry. The discussion will provide an assessment of bonds as they are typically offered in today’s marketplace, including their strengths and shortcomings. Then, don’t miss your chance to hear a General Contractor, a large purchaser of bonding, and two Sureties — all members of the “ConsensusDocs Bond Form Working Group” — offer a case study and a path forward on how to establish common ground between the buyers of surety bonds and the needs of a surety for a reasonably writeable risk. The program will address issues commonly encountered in the claims process such as the right of self-help, remedy/mitigation using subcontract funds, and the timing of the surety’s response.

Learning Objectives:
1) Understand what a surety bond buyer is expecting when it makes a claim under a performance or payment bond
2) Understand why, although an “all risk” surety bond might be attractive in the market, such bonds would not be reasonably available in the market
3) Gain insight into the collaboration that produced a new set of bond forms to meet the current needs of the construction and surety industries
4) Discuss key provisions of the new ConsensusDocs bond forms

Speakers:
Robert Duke
Vice President and Surety Counsel
Markel Surety

Gregory Horne, AVP – Contract Surety Underwriting Officer
Liberty Mutual Surety

Robert Majerus, Vice President and General Counsel
Hensel Phelps Construction Co.

Kimberly Zanotta, Assistant Vice President & Counsel
Travelers Casualty & Surety Company

Mass Timber – which includes CLT (cross-laminated timber) and other large dimension engineered wood products – is gaining more acceptance in code and across the industry. In addition to the potential speed, cost savings, and simplicity of mass timber construction, buildings constructed of mass timber will sequester and store carbon in ways that conventionally constructed buildings cannot, and its production has a smaller carbon footprint than metal or concrete building materials. For all these reasons, there is little doubt that we will be seeing more mass timber incorporated into projects. This session will include a look at the current and future state of this type of construction, risks and potential benefits it presents, and related insurance challenges, and address ways in which your organization can be ready to make smart decisions around whether – and how – to pursue and manage this work.

Learning Objectives:
1) Learn the definition of mass timber
2) Understand its history and future based on what is being incorporated into the 2021 IBC
3) Identify potential benefits and risks and of this construction type
4) Gain clarity on the challenges of insuring these projects

Speakers:
Cheri Hanes, CRIS, LEED AP, Senior Construction Risk Engineer, SDI
AXA XL, a division of AXA

Soyoung Lee, Senior Vice President
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Michelle Luster, Risk Manager
Swinerton Incorporated

Graham Montgomery, PE, SE, Technical Director
Timberlab (a Swinerton Company)

This cutting-edge session will focus on strategies to deploy technologies on projects; effectiveness of various use cases of technology in the marketplace; challenges of testing new technologies; applying technology to claims and disputes; insurance strategies surrounding technology and its effects on risk and other related subjects. The panel will share the findings of a recent market survey on risk-based technologies — shedding light on technological priorities, obstacles to adoption, and what’s currently being used by the AEC industry to manage construction risk. Join this panel of industry experts as they share insights in their areas of expertise and come ready to opine on various market perspectives.

Learning Objectives:
1) Discover advanced technologies in the market today
2) Learn of challenges and processes to deploy technologies on projects
3) Discuss ways to navigate unproven technologies
4) Identify strategies for collaborating across multiple companies on technology projects
5) Gain insights into technology market gaps and micro-segmentation of tech solutions

Speakers:
Rose Hall, Vice President, Head of Construction Innovation – North America Construction
AXA XL, a division of AXA

Dale Hendershot, Owner and Managing Member
Hendershot Consulting, LLC

Andrew Lindsey, Director of Applied Research & Development
Alpha Corporation

Joshua Rogove, President
Consolidated Risk Solutions

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Reception

Open to all attendees

Sponsored by:

Day Three

June 4, 2021

7:00 AM - 8:00 AM

Breakfast

Open to all attendees

8:00 AM - 9:15 AM

The Future of the Safety Professional

General Session

What can finding the right person to sit at the leadership table do for a contractor's safety and loss control programs and bottom line? Two experienced construction risk experts will share their combined decades of experiences and insights and invite conversation on:

• How a safety professional becomes a safety leader, including the key aptitudes that such professionals must possess to effectively sit at the leadership table
• Trends in developing future leaders and proven ways to prepare someone to get a seat at the table and help lead, as a large percent of the experienced safety professionals are reaching retirement age
• Ways to benefit from having safety at the leadership table, including helping to protect your brand, reputation, and overall financial performance
• How safety can make or break your project's bottom line, especially on projects using Contractor Controlled Insurance Programs
• How COVID-19 has elevated the role of safety into being part of business decisions

9:15 AM - 9:45 AM

Networking Break

Sponsored by:

9:45 AM - 10:45 AM

Breakout Sessions

The most important cases and legal issues from 2020/2021 will be highlighted and discussed. These include the current status of potential insurance coverage for COVID-19 damages, design liability for contractors/sureties, expanding tort liability for general contractors and construction managers, material escalation clauses and expectations (Price Variation Clause and Change in Law Clause to permit adjustment of the contract price), potential liability for subcontractor employees including “wage theft,” and a current “snapshot” of construction defect laws and insurance coverage.

Learning Objectives:
1) Provide current legal overview of most important decisions/issues affecting the risk profile and bottom line of General Contractors
2) Use the most recent decisions/issues to assist risk management to understand and manage the evolving risk facing the construction industry
3) Provide “real-time” tools to risk managers so they can recognize, and then reduce or mitigate the known risks

Speakers:
S. Elysha Luken, Partner
Smith, Currie & Hancock LLP

Ronald Robey, Partner
Smith, Currie & Hancock LLP

CPrL insurance continues to morph into more than just professional liability insurance. With the addition of rectification/mitigation, pollution liability, technology coverage, and faulty workmanship coverage, it has expanded well beyond the initial intent, which was providing liability insurance for negligent acts, errors or omissions of any type/size construction firm. This session will not only give perspective on what the current CPrL program should consist of, but will also cover the changing landscape of CPrL markets from capacity reductions to claims to persnickety contractual obligations impacting coverage.

Learning Objectives:
1) Identify the major coverage parts of a current CPrL insurance program
2) Gain perspective on the CPrL marketplace
3) Learn how to identify the contractual pitfalls that impact CPrL insurance

Speaker:
Jeff Slivka, ARM, President, RT Environmental and Construction Professional
RT Specialty

Description:
The Department of Justice released its 2020 Year-End False Claims Act (FCA) update, and the statistics are eye-popping. The government and qui tam relators initiated the largest number of FCA lawsuits in a single year by a wide margin. This session will provide contractors and their bonding industry partners a recap of several hot button fraud issues facing the construction industry. Topics will range from recent agency efforts to thwart a contractor’s choice of appealing claims to the board of contract appeals; to warnings for those companies seeking forgiveness of loans under the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program; to recent changes to the Mentor-Protégé Rules that may alter the way contractors or sureties weigh the risk of fraud in set-aside contracts; to an update on how the government seeks to hold sureties and bond producers liable for a contractor’s alleged FCA violations. The program will also include a discussion of how insurance policies respond to False Claims Act claims.

Learning Objectives:
1) Understand the breadth of government oversight of the construction industry, including recent efforts to extend False Claims Act coverage to bonding activities
2) Appreciate the importance of creating a compliant workplace atmosphere
3) Gain a more detailed awareness of higher risk undertakings and insurance products to target such risk
4) Learn to prevent fraud before it happens through hands-on management

Speakers:
William Boeck, Senior Vice President
Global Cyber Product and Claims Leader / US Financial Lines Claims Practice Leader
Lockton Companies

Tim Heffernan, Senior Partner
Watt, Tieder, Hoffar, & Fitzgerald, L.L.P.

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Breakout Sessions [Repeated]

The most important cases and legal issues from 2020/2021 will be highlighted and discussed. These include the current status of potential insurance coverage for COVID-19 damages, design liability for contractors/sureties, expanding tort liability for general contractors and construction managers, material escalation clauses and expectations (Price Variation Clause and Change in Law Clause to permit adjustment of the contract price), potential liability for subcontractor employees including “wage theft,” and a current “snapshot” of construction defect laws and insurance coverage.

Learning Objectives:
1) Provide current legal overview of most important decisions/issues affecting the risk profile and bottom line of General Contractors
2) Use the most recent decisions/issues to assist risk management to understand and manage the evolving risk facing the construction industry
3) Provide “real-time” tools to risk managers so they can recognize, and then reduce or mitigate the known risks

Speakers:
S. Elysha Luken, Partner
Smith, Currie & Hancock LLP

Ronald Robey, Partner
Smith, Currie & Hancock LLP

CPrL insurance continues to morph into more than just professional liability insurance. With the addition of rectification/mitigation, pollution liability, technology coverage, and faulty workmanship coverage, it has expanded well beyond the initial intent, which was providing liability insurance for negligent acts, errors or omissions of any type/size construction firm. This session will not only give perspective on what the current CPrL program should consist of, but will also cover the changing landscape of CPrL markets from capacity reductions to claims to persnickety contractual obligations impacting coverage.

Learning Objectives:
1) Identify the major coverage parts of a current CPrL insurance program
2) Gain perspective on the CPrL marketplace
3) Learn how to identify the contractual pitfalls that impact CPrL insurance

Speaker:
Jeff Slivka, ARM, President, RT Environmental and Construction Professional
RT Specialty

Description:
The Department of Justice released its 2020 Year-End False Claims Act (FCA) update, and the statistics are eye-popping. The government and qui tam relators initiated the largest number of FCA lawsuits in a single year by a wide margin. This session will provide contractors and their bonding industry partners a recap of several hot button fraud issues facing the construction industry. Topics will range from recent agency efforts to thwart a contractor’s choice of appealing claims to the board of contract appeals; to warnings for those companies seeking forgiveness of loans under the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program; to recent changes to the Mentor-Protégé Rules that may alter the way contractors or sureties weigh the risk of fraud in set-aside contracts; to an update on how the government seeks to hold sureties and bond producers liable for a contractor’s alleged FCA violations. The program will also include a discussion of how insurance policies respond to False Claims Act claims.

Learning Objectives:
1) Understand the breadth of government oversight of the construction industry, including recent efforts to extend False Claims Act coverage to bonding activities
2) Appreciate the importance of creating a compliant workplace atmosphere
3) Gain a more detailed awareness of higher risk undertakings and insurance products to target such risk
4) Learn to prevent fraud before it happens through hands-on management

Speakers:
William Boeck, Senior Vice President
Global Cyber Product and Claims Leader / US Financial Lines Claims Practice Leader
Lockton Companies


Tim Heffernan, Senior Partner
Watt, Tieder, Hoffar, & Fitzgerald, L.L.P.