Latest Contractors Headlines

All the headlines from our Contractors Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Connecticut High Court Blocks Injury Suit Against Contractor

Aug 5 2016 // Two workers injured in a power plant explosion that killed six other people in 2010 cannot sue a contractor for negligence, the state Connecticut Supreme Court recently ruled. Justices issued a 6-1 decision saying O&G...

Texas Contractor Fined $124K for Trench Hazards, Safety Violations

Aug 2 2016 // Federal safety officials on July 28 cited Oscar Renda Contracting Inc. for safety violations at a site in Houston and proposed penalties of $124,300. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health...

Washington Tunnel Contractors File $11M Lawsuit

Jul 25 2016 // The contractors who built Bertha the tunnel machine in Washington two years ago have filed a lawsuit seeking $11 million in extra pay. The Seattle Times reported that the contractors contend that their efforts working with...

Identifying True Insurance Needs Based on Realistic Rebuilding Costs

Jul 11 2016 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. Because the reconstruction cost to rebuild a home is generally higher than the original cost to build that same home, the topic often leads to difficult conversations...

General Star Adds Artisan Contractor Coverage in Select States

Jun 21 2016 // General Star Management Company has added artisan contractor coverage to its delegated authority product offerings. Consisting of 25 artisan contracting classes, the new coverage will be available in Maine, Massachusetts,...

What Agents Should Know About the Surety Bond Market

Jun 20 2016 // As a property/casualty insurance agent, you’re used to focusing on providing your clients with top-quality service and serving as a great resource for all insurance questions they might have. Then suddenly your...

Contractor’s Professional Mitigation of Damages Coverage

Jun 20 2016 // As contractors’ professional liability insurance products continue to develop and evolve in the marketplace, many contractors aren’t aware of a new “first-party” coverage that has become available...

Supreme Court Limits Fraud Claims Against Federal Contractors

Jun 17 2016 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday imposed some limits on the kind of fraud claims that can be brought against federal contractors in a case involving a suit against one of America’s largest hospital operators over a...

XL Catlin Launches Wholesale Contractors’ Pollution, Professional Coverage

Jun 15 2016 // XL Catlin’s North America Environmental insurance business has introduced a new wholesale pollution and professional insurance policy designed to help U.S. trade contractors address their contractual obligations to...

How Gig Economy Is Using Private Arbitration to Win on Labor Classification

Jun 6 2016 // Sharing economy workers’ best shot at suing to rewrite the rules of their employment may soon pass them by. As judges last Thursday considered settlements that will leave Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. drivers...

NYC Drivers Group Sues Uber Over Independent Contractor Classification

Jun 3 2016 // A group representing 5,000 Uber Technologies Inc drivers in New York City filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing the ride-share company of depriving drivers of various employment protections by misclassifying them as...

Critics of Uber’s $100M Driver Settlement Have Day in Court

Jun 3 2016 // Uber Technologies Inc. may have to return to the bargaining table to show just how badly it wants to avoid a jury trial with drivers demanding to be treated as employees. The world’s largest rideshare company faced...

XL Catlin Adds Rectification Expense Coverage to Contractors’ Policies

May 27 2016 // XL Catlin’s Environmental insurance business has added new protection to its Contractor’s Professional and Pollution Legal Liability insurance to help contractors and environmental consultant clients absorb the...

Disaster Fraud Rampant After Floods, Hurricanes

May 24 2016 // This year, extensive flooding has already affected parts of Texas and Louisiana. With more rain producing floods in the forecast for the southern part of the U.S. this spring, the likelihood of disaster fraud...

Lyft Raises Offer to Drivers to $27M in Contractors V. Employees Suit

May 12 2016 // Lyft Inc. raised its proposed payout to 163,000 California drivers to $27 million in their lawsuit to be treated as employees rather than contractors. The revised settlement comes after a San Francisco federal judge...

Judge Rejects Uber’s Independent Contractors Claim in Sex Attacks Suit

May 5 2016 // Uber Technologies Inc.’s denial of responsibility for sexual assaults by drivers failed to derail a lawsuit brought by two women who say they were attacked last year. A San Francisco federal judge on Wednesday...

Immigrants, Homeless Used by Asbestos Contractors in Michigan, Report Shows

May 4 2016 // A newspaper says contractors are using immigrants, ex-cons, homeless people and teenagers to remove material containing asbestos from of aging buildings. The Detroit Free Press reported this week in the second of a...

Special Report: Execs Warn of Impending Florida Market Crisis Over Water Loss Claims

May 3 2016 // Abuse of assignment of benefits (AOB) from water loss claims has become a full-blown Florida insurance crisis that will mean higher insurance rates next year and for the foreseeable future for every Florida policyholder,...

5 Reasons the ‘Primary and Noncontributory’ Requirement is Unethical, Ironic and Ridiculous

May 2 2016 // Several weeks ago I released an article questioning the need for the “primary and noncontributory” (PNC) requirement found in most construction contracts. I followed that article with a piece stating that the...

Insurer Among Parties Arguing over Cause of Flooded Homes in Nebraska

Apr 24 2016 // The city of Bellevue, Neb., the Metropolitan Utilities District, a plumbing contractor and its insurance company disagree about who’s to blame for a ruptured water line that flooded about 12 homes in February. The...