The Building BITE

Please tune in to this episode of The Building BITE Podcast, as we hear from industry experts about key topics to help you be successful. The Building BITE hosts Chris Epps, LEED AP and Mike Diercksen, CRIS, welcome Tracy Saxe, President at SDV Law in Trumbull CT.

We begin the episode by discussing Tracy’s path to Insurance Law and what drew him to the field. Realizing how complex this area of law was, and the unique challenges that each project would present, Tracy was driven to open his own firm, SDV Law. Operating on a national scale, SDV employs 50 lawyers and specializes in representing policyholders in insurance coverage disputes.

While diving into our topic, Tracy gives our listeners three excellent takeaways and best practices when exploring Builders Risk Coverage:

1. If a claim occurs, get off email and stop finger pointing: Rather than begin with finger pointing, look to process the first party claim, get the money to help rectify the issue, and then figure out if there even is a need to pursue further action. Sending emails and prematurely issuing blame can lead to potential exclusions in the policy and create larger problems down the road.

2. In the event of a new claim, treat this as a new project: When a claim occurs, make sure your team is prepped and ready to treat the project as a brand new one. The events of the claim may drastically impact the way in which you have to operate to complete the project, and your billing codes should be updated accordingly to reflect those changes.

3. Assemble your entire team pre-loss: If you are going to have an outside expert either for scheduling, quantification, engineering etc. It is important to not only identify this team, but to consistently use this team to help build familiarity among the parties. This will allow for improved coordination and expedite the mitigation efforts for the insured.

To learn more about how you can better prepare your firm for the challenges ahead, listen to our full podcast episode with Tracy on “A Focus on Builders Risk, From a Legal Perspective”

Please like, share, and subscribe to this podcast!

Please tune in to this episode of The Building BITE Podcast, as we hear from industry experts about key topics to help you be successful. The Building BITE hosts Chris Epps, LEED AP and Mike Diercksen, CRIS, welcome Eric Anderton, Executive Coach and host of Podcast, Construction Genius.

We begin the episode by discussing Eric’s path to Construction. Beginning his career in sales, Eric eventually connected with a leadership development program before venturing out on his own. While Eric never worked in the industry directly, he felt a connection to the builders and has continued to expand his network within the Construction space. When diving into our topic, Eric gives our listeners three excellent takeaways and best practices when leading a team:

1. Never Settle: Like that of a GM in any major sports league, companies must always be looking to develop and improve their team. By never settling, you are constantly looking to help enhance your current team, while always keeping an eye on the market to find opportunities to bring in people who can improve areas of weakness within the firm.

2. Importance of 1-to-1 meetings: If you want to develop your team and improve communication, you MUST have 1 on 1 discussions. Utilizing tactics like setting an agenda and empowering them to bring both challenges they have or ideas to enhance the internal process are key. Eric sets the scene as an oasis of development and conversation for your team, refreshing and encouraging them as they continue their path through the project lifecycle.

3. Incorporate EAR framework every day: You must be able to every day put your arm around your team and encourage them (E) telling them “You can do it”. Additionally, you must look to hold your team accountable (A), and confirm “did you, do it?”. Lastly, you must recognize (R) them, “you did it!”.

To learn more about how you can create a leadership culture where you never settle, listen to our full podcast episode with Eric on “Never Settling”

Please like, share, and subscribe to this podcast!

Please tune in to this episode of The Building BITE Podcast, as we hear from industry experts about key topics to help you be successful. The Building BITE hosts Chris Epps, LEED AP and Mike Diercksen, CRIS, welcome Sarah Carson, Partner at Smith Currie here in Raleigh NC.

We open our episode by discussing Sarah’s path to construction law and what drew her to the field. Realizing how complex this area of law was, and the unique challenges that each project would present, Sarah was quick to dive in and begin learning as much as possible. Now an accomplished attorney and a leader in legal issues impacting the construction industry, Sarah leads the local Raleigh, North Carolina office for Smith Currie and also practices in Georgia and DC.

While diving into our topic, Sarah gives our listeners excellent takeaways and action items regarding the best practices when looking to expand business operations into new states and territories:

1. Don’t Underestimate Your Ability to Succeed in a New Market: It can be scary to take on the risk of expansion, but now there are plenty of tools to help make that transition a successful one. The opportunity is there and can be a real launch point for companies in the construction industry to thrive. Sarah discusses these innovations and the opportunities for success.

2. Understand the Where, Why, and When: Decisions like these do not happen in a vacuum, and should be done after detailed planning and assessment. Take the time to really dig into where you want to expand and why you believe the market will lead to success. Most importantly is the “when”. As Sarah mentions, you need to be dialed in and understand the proper timing both from an internal standpoint for licensing and as well as dialed in to the current needs of that market and future opportunities within.

3. Be an Active Participant in Your Companies Growth: It is not enough to just do your research and make the jump to a new market, there needs to be a commitment to the process. Constantly looking to better understand the complexities of your new market and maintaining a working knowledge of the active and pending laws is an ongoing endeavor and is crucial to success.

To learn more about how you can better prepare your firm for the challenges ahead, listen to our full podcast episode with Sarah on “How to Successfully Grow Your Business Into Different States.”

Please like, share, and subscribe to this podcast!

Please tune in to this episode of The Building BITE Podcast as we hear from industry experts about key topics to help you be successful. The Building BITE host Mike Diercksen, CRIS, welcomes Paul Primavera (EVP), Matt Goss (SVP, Strategic Lead), and Tom Hester (SVP) of Lockton Companies.

We start our episode with Paul Primavera as he discusses the recent 2022 Construction Design & Outlook Report. With some critical advice and areas to focus on, Paul transitions to a focus on Builders Risk, where we are introduced to Matt and Tom. From there, Matt and Tom provides us with some background on themselves and the unique opportunity they had to recognize an area of need and develop a great program to benefit their insureds.

While discussing today’s topic, Matt and Tom leave our listeners with some excellent takeaways regarding Builders Risk and some innovative solutions to the problems currently facing the market:

1. Need to get ahead of development strategy: A lot of what we are seeing is directly correlated to the Real Estate Boom, and it tells us that Developers are poised with robust pipelines right now. Now more than ever, we advise our clients to take the time to analyze the different risks concerning their target projects and get ahead of potential issues.

2. Control: With the market currently dealing with a wide array of issues due to inflation, it’s imperative to control internal processes and stay ahead of the curve. Working with your broker to leverage existing relationships within the market may provide the financial stability needed to maintain projects and avoid bringing in outside parties late in the game.

3. Need to align the risk to actual coverage: We know clients want to keep moving forward and build, but it is essential to periodically pump the breaks to ensure we align risk with coverage. By identifying your project risk accurately, we can avoid potential oversights in coverage that might hurt the balance sheet later in the project in case of a claim.

To learn more about how you can better prepare your firm for the challenges ahead, listen to our full podcast episode with Paul, Matt, and Tom, “A Construction Outlook in 2022, with a Deeper Dive into Builders Risk.”

Please like, share, and subscribe to this podcast!

Podcast: The Building BITE

Episode: “How to Identify and rectify bad contract language”

Please tune in to this episode of The Building BITE Podcast as we hear from industry experts about key topics to help you be successful. The Building BITE host Mike Diercksen, CRIS, welcomes Alexis Bradshaw, SVP of Construction Casualty at Marsh in NYC.

Alexis starts by sharing her professional career and how her career journey took a unique turn, from working in political strategies and campaigns to contractors and ultimately ending up working for various Brokers throughout the construction/insurance industry. Alexis continued to learn and grow professionally and eventually found herself as an SVP within Marsh’s Construction Casualty Group. With a desire for knowledge, Alexis is passionate about educating other professionals about her industry and being a valuable resource to clients and peers.

While discussing today’s topic, Alexis leaves our listeners with some excellent takeaways regarding their contracts and some best practices:

1. Don’t leave insurance coverage and negotiations to the end: You can’t assume that there is no bad contract language; it is out there! By bringing your Broker into the fold when crafting the insurance clause of the contract, you can alleviate future pitfalls. Brokers may be able to assist and offer alternative solutions to issues that would allow you to avoid further negotiations.

2. You may need to negotiate at a higher level as far as risk transfer is concerned: There is value in experience, and while project teams have varying degrees of expertise, it is wise to lean on the wisdom of your trusted advisors. Bringing in your Broker and allowing them to review contract language that might be too generic will enable them to provide value and detail out project-specific needs at a higher level.

3. Make sure to give your Broker the full contract: It is imperative that the Broker receive the full contract, as this will help provide additional context that enhances the Brokers impact on the process. Additionally, this will help clarify responsibilities within the contract and remove any ambiguity down the road.

To learn more about how you can better prepare your firm for the challenges ahead, listen to our full podcast episode with Alexis Bradshaw, “How to Identify and rectify bad contract language.”

Please like, share, and subscribe to this podcast!

Please tune in to this episode of The Building BITE Podcast as we hear from industry experts about key topics to help you be successful. The Building BITE host Mike Diercksen, CRIS, welcomes Allison Nichols, Director of Standards and Compliance for Facilities Operations and Planning at the University of Miami.

Allison starts us off by sharing her professional career and how her career journey can be broken down into thirds working with Contractors, Owners, and Program managers/ Developers. Through all these experiences, Allison has continuously learned and grew as a professional and ultimately followed her passion. Ultimately, Allison shares how her journey has led her to the University of Miami, where she can incorporate all she has learned in managing projects to drive the university forward.

While discussing her path, Allison leaves our listeners with some excellent takeaways regarding their careers:

1. Be Passionate About Whatever You Choose to do: This is the number one thing when making a career decision. So much time is spent developing and learning the skills of your desired trade that it is critical you have a solid connection to the field. As Allison was drawn to Engineering, she enjoyed spending time learning and growing, which would have been made much more difficult had she not found a deep passion for it.

2. Be Transparent: Be willing to share with others! The more you can be transparent and communicate with people, the more they can share with you. By creating these types of bonds and relationships, you will get increased exposure to new and exciting thoughts while benefitting yourself and those around you.

3. Be Resourceful, Flexible, and Inquisitive: Many people leave school and are not very assertive when finding their way professionally. Just because you are new or young does not mean that you cannot ask questions of those around you! Showing that inquisitive side is a great way to demonstrate a willingness to learn which, opening many doors for you professionally. The exposure that comes as a byproduct of these questions and opportunities will help to fuel your career!

To learn more about how you can better prepare your firm for the challenges ahead, listen to our full podcast episode with Allison Nichols, Lifelong Learning, Finding Your Passion to Build a Career.

Please like, share, and subscribe to this podcast!

Please tune in to this episode of The Building BITE Podcast as we hear from industry experts about key topics to help you be successful. The Building BITE host Mike Diercksen, CRIS, welcomes Parker Mundt, Operating Director for Suffolk Technologies, and the Managing Director of their Boost Program.

Parker starts us off by sharing his professional career and his road to his current position within Suffolk Technologies. Starting as a “Career Start,” Parker was exposed to several sides of the construction industry. He worked as a Project Engineer, Superintendent, and project manager while working on one of the larger projects in Boston. A few years into his tenure with Suffolk, Parker was offered the opportunity to work within a new team of Suffolk Technologies and act as the connecting bridge from the Suffolk Construction Team and helped drive Suffolk Technologies on where to invest and helping to add value to all stakeholders.

From there, Parker proceeds to identify his three main takeaways on closing the gaps within quality management:

1. Innovation in the Construction industry requires buy-in and absolute alignment across stakeholders: Rarely are all the various stakeholders, such as Insurance Carriers, Architects, Engineers, and the clients, perfectly aligned. That is how the Boost program came to be, as it provides an opportunity to generate some equity early in the project. Once that has been deposited into the project, it creates a greater sense of purpose, enhancing alignment.

2. Learn to fail fast: We have seen many companies face hardships and be forced to make difficult decisions early on. When you can assess the situation quickly and understand that you may not be able to achieve your goal, shutting the project down quickly provides the ability to innovate and try something new given what you have learned.

3. Reverse Mentorship: Be open to learning in a variety of ways. While there are great lessons to be learned from traditional mentorship, we often find that younger professionals who may be more inclined to challenge the status quo may offer a different viewpoint, leading to unique solutions. These types of new questions and thoughts will be what help drive the construction industry forward!

To learn more about how you can better prepare your firm for the challenges ahead, listen to our full podcast episode with Parker Mundt, Innovation in Construction Technology, The Boost Program.

Please like, share, and subscribe to this podcast!

Podcast: The Building BITE

Episode: Closing the Gaps in Quality Management

Please tune in to this episode of The Building BITE Podcast as we hear from industry experts about key topics to help you be successful. The Building BITE hosts Chris Epps, PSP, LEED AP, and Mike Diercksen, CRIS, welcome Chris Heider, Risk Engineer for Cove Programs, specifically in their Subcontractor Default Insurance (SDI) group.

Chris starts us off by sharing his professional career and the road he took to his current position with the Optio Group, the parent organization for Cove Programs. After spending 12+ years working for a mid-sized GC in Central Ohio, Chris was recruited away from the field by Zurich to work as a Casualty Risk Engineer. While at Zurich, Chris was introduced to SDI coverage (known at Zurich as Subguard) and grew very comfortable with that space, which allowed him to maximize his construction operations background. Now at Cove, Chris specializes in his field and assists all Cove Insureds through their SDI Program needs.

From there, Chris proceeds to identify his three main takeaways on closing the gaps within quality management:

1. The Need for Formal Programming and Executive Commitments: While there are seven key elements noted in Chris' call for formal programming, the internal executive champion is a key piece. This person will help own the process and help enact the designated plan, ensuring that all parties are meeting the program's mission statement and overall objective.

2. Establish Testing and Inspections: While it is essential to have your plan and a committed leadership team, how you can evaluate the effectiveness of that plan is equally crucial. Defining clear and established testing procedures allows the process to be more efficient and creates a more uniform approach that will yield repeatable processes which should improve the data.

3. Keep an Open Mind: Teams have plenty of opportunities to become better and constantly reevaluate their internal processes and offerings. By staying dialed in and continually looking to improve, GCs can continue to close the gap within their quality management process.

To learn more about how you can better prepare your firm for the challenges ahead, listen to our full podcast episode with Chris Heider, Closing the Gaps in Quality Management.

Please like, share, and subscribe to this podcast!

Please tune in to this episode of The Building BITE Podcast as we hear from industry experts about key topics to help you be successful. The Building BITE hosts Chris Epps, PSP, LEED AP and Mike Diercksen, CRIS, welcome Adam Denno of Willis Towers Watson’s Default Insurance Group (DIG).

Adam leads off by sharing his professional growth and early interest within the data and analytics space, which eventually led him to the construction industry and the Con-Tech Insurance space. Then, equipped with significant resources within the DIG team, Adam expands upon his desire to dig deeper into the data and help his Insureds be better positioned to grow with the evolving market needs and opportunities that this data provides.

Diving into the topic at hand, Adam proceeds to identify his three takeaways on maximizing the effect of qualitative and quantitative data:

1. Access to Accurate Data is Critical: In this ever-expanding world of data and analytics, it is not just about how much data you can collect but what data you are collecting. These expanding opportunities are key to the industry’s growth; however, if you are not careful, you can dilute their impact by not identifying and focusing on the best for your business.

2. Technology is Evolving: Evolving technology will only continue to expand the universe of what we can track and integrate into our risk models. Keeping an open mind to new solutions or technologies will better equip you to keep pace with your competition.

3. Invest in People – Leading Contractors, Brokers, and Carriers invest in People, Programs, and Processes to ensure timely access to data and resulting analytics. Data is great, but firms are likely to struggle with their data implementation without the right team in place to monitor and implement that data in a meaningful way. This is also a way to level the playing field for smaller to mid-sized firms, as deploying the right team creates a more agile approach and can give you the advantage when bidding for work.

To learn more about planning for success, listen to our full podcast episode with Adam Denno, Yielding Positive Results in the Industry Through Qualitative and Quantitative data.

Please like, share, and subscribe to this podcast!

Links:

Connect with Adam on LinkedIn

View Willis’s website at Willis Towers Watson

Connect with Mike Diercksen

Podcast: The Building BITE

Episode: Infrastructure, How to Plan for Success

Please tune in to this episode of The Building BITE Podcast, as we hear from industry experts about key topics to help you be successful. The Building BITE hosts Valerie Bono and Mike Diercksen, CRIS, welcome David Farino, CPCU, ARM, and AVP of NFP’s Construction Brokerage Group.

David begins by sharing his journey beginning with his background. His background started in banking and eventually led him to underwriting where he now serves as a leader of the construction group of NFP. David has leaned on previous experience, which is paying dividends for his Insureds as he has been able to guide them through the ins and outs of bidding on civil work. As the son of a of a Service-Disabled Veteran, David takes tremendous pride in helping small minority-owned businesses earn these civil contracts.

Diving into the topic at hand, David proceeds to lay out his take on infrastructure projects and how to best prepare for them.

1. Not All Opportunity is Good Opportunity: David emphasizes the importance of looking at each opportunity individually and making sure you take the time to manage these situations effectively. Being more selective and really finding ideal partnerships and opportunities will allow for sustained and scalable growth.

2. Be Proactive: Rather than reacting to the situations at hand, begin to look ahead and develop a plan for identifying what work fits their skill set the best. Insureds are better positioned to stay within their wheelhouse and find success by creating a plan and sticking to it.

3. Take Time to Assess Your Capabilities: You must look within to see if your organization is prepared to meet the Owners’ expectations and drive value upstream. Asking questions such as, “Do we have the controls in place to meet our contractual obligations”? Or, “Is our current subcontractor pool deep enough to fulfill these needs?” Finding the right partnerships can help to alleviate some of these concerns and provide valuable experience for Insureds as they continue to grow.

To learn more about planning for success, listen to our full podcast episode with David Farino, Infrastructure, How to Plan for Success.

Please like, share, and subscribe to this podcast!