Greetings!
There's something to be said for stability. For more than 20 years, we have focused on the development of relationships with companies in the building industry and construction-related trades. We take pride in our ability to provide specialized coverage to our contractors. Personally, I've been an officer of the Builders Assocation of Greater Boston (BAGB) and the
National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), and have been affiliated with these organizations for many years. Other members of our Account Executive staff are also members and officers of BAGB and NARI in Massachusetts and Mindy Palmer Prescott is a member of the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of New Hampshire. Our long-time focus on the building industry guarantees that your Account Executive and assigned Service Representative will have in-depth knowledge about how to quickly assist you in tackling an audit, your insurance/contractual relationship with subs, workers compensation questions and any other issues that arise.
Wisdom. Experience. Stability.
The thesaurus lists the following as synonyms for "stability": steadiness, strength, soundness, poise, solidity, balance. We like all of those, and we hope that our clients would use many of those terms to describe the service and care they receive from Mason & Mason. On the other hand, the dictionary uses a few other phrases to explain the concept of stability... phrases like "continuance without change", "permanence", and "resistance to change".
I suppose in some ways this is a good thing. We expect our professionals to deliver the consistent care our clients have come to expect from M&M, regardless of the current business environment. We continue to seek out the best companies to work with so that we can provide you with excellent coverage  (at an affordable cost) from year to year, just as we always have... but at the same time, we understand the need to be relevant. As technology advances, the ways in which we communicate have changed as well. That's why we're so pleased to share with you that we have a new Facebook page! We're excited at having yet another means of connecting with our friends and clients.
See, we're all about relationship. Providing comprehensive coverage at a competitive price is very important to us, of course, but really what it all comes down to is relationship. Other faceless insurance firms might find you coverage, even at an affordable cost... but they lack the personal investment you'll find with our agency. Our dedicated professionals aren't just pushing paper, they are truly concerned with the affairs of our clients. When you suffer a loss, they share your disappointment. When you receive a great result from an audit, the cheering you hear on the other end of the phone is sincere. And when it comes to fighting for what you deserve, they are fierce. Because you are not just a path to a paycheck for them, they really care.
So check us out on Facebook! We're looking forward to using this channel as a means of distributing information to you, but more importantly, it's yet another avenue for opening the lines of communication, keeping in touch, and developing our relationship with you... and that's always a good thing. J
Have a great month! 
Tom Messier, Vice President
Mason & Mason Insurance Agency
M&M Assurance Group
P.S. If you enjoy this newsletter, check out our website at www.mmins.com. Click the "Clients" tab at the top of the page and then enter the site with username: "Client" and password: "INFO4U". You'll find more helpful articles on a wide range of topics. There's even a list of all our previous newsletters, so you can browse by topic to find exactly what you're looking for! If you have any questions, give us a call at (800) 298-0802. We'll be happy to hear from you! |
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What are the Facts Regarding a Contractual Liability Limitation Endorsement?
 Scenario #1: A structural steel erection firm wins a contract for the construction of a five-story office building in an urban location. The contract requires the firm to assume the general contractor's legal liability for accidents occurring during the project and arising out of the steel work. One week into the project, a crane lifting a load of steel bars topples over into a street, damaging cars, nearby buildings, and injuring drivers and pedestrians. Several of the victims file suit against the property's owner, the general contractor, and the steel firm. As per their agreement, the general contractor looks to the steel firm to defend it in court and pay any resulting judgments. The steel firm forwards the claim to its Liability insurance company, which proceeds to defend both the steel firm and general contractor. The company settles with the victims and pays on behalf of both contractors, up to the policy's limits.
Scenario #2 is identical to #1, but this time the insurance policy contains a wrinkle. The policy includes a special endorsement, ISO form number CG 21 39 10 93, Contractual Liability Limitation. Accordingly, the insurance company defends the steel firm and pays an amount to settle its claims. However, it refuses to defend the general contractor or pay the amount of the loss the steel firm assumed under the contract. When the steel firm is unable to pay these sums out of pocket, the general contractor...
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Save on Workers Comp Costs by Making Safety a Top Priority
In 2008, U.S. employers reported 3.7 million nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Although this number was down from the prior year, it still shows that workplace safety must be a priority for employers. When workers get hurt or sick on the job, productivity suffers, the employer becomes less attractive to the other employees, and managers' attention shifts away from growing the business. Preventable accidents also hurt the bottom line in another way -- they eventually raise Workers Compensation costs by increasing the employer's experience modification factor.
The experience mod is a number calculated by the Workers Compensation rating bureau in the employer's state. It's a reflection of how the employer's loss history for the prior three years (not including the current year) compares with that of an average employer in the same industry. It takes into account the size of the employer's payroll for those years, and the number and severity of its losses. The formula penalizes an employer more for frequent losses than for expensive ones. For example, an employer with 10 losses of $3,000 each will have a higher experience mod than will a similar employer with...
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About Mason and Mason
For more than 20 years we've been committed to meeting the insurance and bonding needs of the construction industry. The success and leadership of our practice has led to strategic and proprietary relationships with insurance companies similarly committed to the industry. Our clients benefit from our insurer relationships in the form of products designed with their special needs in mind. Our access to many construction specialty insurers also assures our clients are afforded a range of options at various cost levels in order to match the level of protection for their particular needs. As important as these insurer relationships are, our true competitive edge is the people who serve our clients. We have team of construction insurance professionals who understand the complexities of the worker's compensation and general liability insurance regulatory environment as applied to the industry. We leverage this specialized knowledge and our broad risk management expertise to the benefit of our construction industry clients.
Mason and Mason Insurance M&M Assurance Group
458 South Avenue 3304 White Mountain Hwy
Whitman, Massachusetts 02382 North Conway, NH 03860
T (800) 759-1452 T (800) 298-0802
F (781) 447-2832 F (603) 356-9290 |
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Your Subcontractor's Work is Done Incorrectly: Are You Covered?
Acme Construction, a home building company, constructed 20 homes in 2003. It hired subcontractors to perform the concrete work, plumbing, wiring, and roofing. One year later, it received complaints from two of the homeowners about cracks in their foundations. Acme notified its Liability insurance company. When the homeowners eventually sued Acme, the insurance company provided legal defense and set up reserves to pay for any resulting settlements.
Fast forward to 2005 when Acme built 35 homes to meet the demands of an active housing market. Other than the subcontractor who did the concrete work in 2003, Acme hired the same group of subs to work on these homes. When snow started melting after the winter of 2007, complaints started to come in about leaking roofs. Eventually, seven homeowners determined that they had to replace their roofs completely, and sued Acme for the faulty work. Acme again notified its insurance company. This time, however, the company denied the claims, saying that the insurance policy did not cover them. Acme had to pay for its own legal defense and liabilities.
What changed between 2005 and 2007? The insurance company...
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