Construction Insurance: The Basics

Presented by:
Stephen D. Palley
Founding Partner of Palley Law, PLLC

Most construction projects require the parties to provide different types of insurance. Regardless of cost or risk, contractual insurance requirements are often afterthoughts, however, even for substantial projects. Regardless of the size of a project, contractual insurance requirements are often boilerplate that is misunderstood or left unread. So too with insurance policies. This presentation covers construction insurance basics, with a goal of simplifying and demystifying insurance products and contract clauses used for construction projects throughout the United States.

This program will cover the basics of liability and property policies used for construction projects. The following topics will be covered:

• The difference between first-party and third-party insurance policies
  
• How to read an insurance policy – coverage grants, conditions, exclusions and endorsements
  
• Construction contract insurance clauses – the basics
  
• What a waiver of subrogation clause does (and why it should have a different name)
  
• Recent developments in construction insurance case-law
  
• Tips for effective claims handling (or how to talk to an insurance company)
  
• And much, much more!

In addition, a 10-to-15 minute period has been reserved at the end of the presentation for an interactive question-and-answer session so you can discuss specific issues or gain additional knowledge about insurance coverage disputes and construction insurance basics.

Who Will Benefit:

This program is a must if you’re a contractor, public or private owner, subcontractor, construction manager, owner’s representative, architect or other design professional providing project oversight services.

Meet Your Expert Instructor:

Stephen D. Palley is the founding partner of Palley Law, PLLC in Washington, D.C. He represents construction industry clients in connection with insurance coverage transactions and disputes. In addition to more than 15 years of litigation, trial and dispute resolution practice, Mr. Palley has extensive experience with insurance-related construction contract negotiation and insurance policy review and negotiation. He has advised clients on the development and negotiation of insurance and risk-transfer programs and claims for some of the largest construction projects in the United States, including power plants, airports, sports venues and hospitals.

He is listed as a DC Super Lawyer in the area of construction litigation. Mr. Palley is also a Fellow of The American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel. He has also written and spoken extensively on Construction Insurance topics and is the lead editor and contributing author of two chapters to Construction Insurance (2012) and contributing author of a chapter on Construction Insurance Basics in Fundamentals of Construction Law (2013), treatises published by the ABA Forum on the Construction Industry.