By Steve Rizer
Although most integrated project delivery (IPD) projects thus far have used traditional insurance products, “we are now starting to see integrated policies being developed,” Howard Ashcraft, a partner with Hanson Bridgett LLP, told a group of professionals attending a webinar that WPL Publishing held last month.
“A few projects have used multi-user integrated programs, which have professional liability if they cover, for instance, all parties, and there are now about 4-5 carriers out there that actually have integrated policies,” Ashcraft said. “They vary considerably [regarding] their terms. They come from different approaches. One of them is built off of a contractor-style policy. One of them is built off of a designer-style policy. One is an entirely new product, so, sad to say, this is one of those places where you have to read the fine print.”
Professionals considering integrated policies “need to look at the relationship between the size of the risk-reward pool, the size of the self-insured retention, and see what the dynamics are for how those work,” Ashcraft said. “You also have to focus on how you deal, since these are often policies that last multi-year, with the deductibles or self-insured retentions that occur after [a] project [is completed] and the profit at risk has actually already been distributed to the parties, so there are a number of issues you need to look at in order to make that work.”
Ashcraft noted that self-insured retentions often are “fairly large on these policies” and usually are used for “where you would want to put the equivalent of an owner-controlled insurance program or a contractor-controlled insurance program, so it’s mostly for larger projects.”
The interactive event, entitled “Integrated Project Delivery Contracts: Keys to Success,” was targeted to an audience of architects, engineers, contractors, subcontractors, public and private owners, construction managers, consultants, and construction law attorneys.
During the 90-minute presentation, Ashcraft also discussed IPD structure, IPD resources, the risk-reward of IPD, the differences between IPD contracts, and other IPD-related topics.
A recording of the webinar can be purchased via the following link: http://constructionpronet.com/Products/1036.aspx.
