Latest Contractors Headlines

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

Contractors Need to Be Involved in the Claims Process, BELFOR CEO Says

Oct 27 2014 // Customer service in property claims suffers when the contractor is left out of the settlement process and policy renewals may be in jeopardy because of it. That’s the word from the top executive of one of the...

Kansas Contractors Struggle to Find Skilled Workers

Oct 24 2014 // A survey finds that many Kansas contractors are having trouble filling skilled jobs in the construction industry. Ninety percent of the 20 Kansas firms that responded to an Associated General Contractors survey said...

New Jersey Contractor Sentenced for Scamming Sandy Victims

Oct 20 2014 // A New Jersey contractor who took deposits for work that was never done at two central New Jersey homes damaged by Superstorm Sandy has been sentenced to five years in state prison. Monmouth County prosecutors say the...

Contractor to Pay Traverse City, Michigan $300K for River Damage

Oct 8 2014 // The contractor hired to remove a northern Michigan dam will pay $300,000 to resolve a lawsuit and restore a river that was damaged when the dam failed. Traverse City commissioners approved the settlement agreement on Oct....

Missouri Contractor Going to Prison for Tornado Repair Fraud

Sep 26 2014 // A southwest Missouri contractor is going to prison for stealing more than $73,000 from an elderly Joplin couple who hired him to repair their home after the May 2011 tornado. The U.S. Attorney’s office says...

Contractors and the CGL Policy’s ‘Your Product’ and ‘Your Work’ Exclusions

Sep 22 2014 // Dear Contractors: The wall you just built may not be covered by your insurance the way you think it is. This is because although the commercial general liability (CGL) policy may cover bodily injury or property damage to...

Helping Clients Through Home Renovations

Sep 22 2014 // Home renovations are in high gear these days, thanks to low interest rates on second mortgages and bank loans. But, the construction process itself is typically fraught with anxiety, given longer-than-expected timeframes...

S. Dakota Director: No Work Comp Premiums for True Independent Contractors

Sep 22 2014 // Merle Scheiber, director of South Dakota’s Insurance Division, issued a reminder to workers’ compensation insurers that bona fide independent contractors are not required to carry workers’ comp insurance...

S. Dakota Director: Don’t Charge Work Comp Premiums for Independent Contractors

Sep 9 2014 // Merle Scheiber, director of South Dakota’s Insurance Division, has issued a reminder to workers’ compensation insurers that bona fide independent contractors are not required to carry workers’ comp...

Report: 1-in-6 Construction Workers in California Part of ‘Informal Economy’

Sep 8 2014 // A report by the nonprofit research group Economic Roundtable released over the Labor Day holiday found that one-in-six construction workers in California fell into the state’s “informal economy,” costing...

The Impact of Prior Work Exclusions and Sunset Provisions in CGL Policies

Sep 8 2014 // The commercial general liability (CGL) occurrence form policy is like a row of briefcases each filled with $1 million. Inscribed on the front of each briefcase is a year representing a specific annual policy period. Each...

NIF Group, HDI Gerling America to offer Artisan Contractor Coverage in West

Sep 5 2014 // NIF Group, Inc., a program administrator and specialty brokerage firm, has announced a new carrier for their artisan contractors program. NIF Insurance Services of California, a division of NIF Group, will act as the...

Report: 1-in-6 Construction Workers in California Part of ‘Informal Economy’

Sep 2 2014 // A report by the nonprofit research group Economic Roundtable released over the Labor Day holiday found that one-in-six construction workers in California fell into the state’s “informal economy,” an...

South Carolina Ex-Lawmaker Viers Pleads Not Guilty in Contractor Insurance Case

Sep 2 2014 // A lawyer for a former South Carolina House member said he may not have realized what he was doing was wrong when he moved around the assets of a businessman who an insurance company was pursuing after he defaulted on a...

N.Y. Gov. Issues Consumer Alert on Potential Home Repair Scams

Aug 20 2014 // New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo issued a consumer alert warning homeowners to protect themselves against home repair scams, which may arise in wake of the recent flooding that occurred on Long Island. “Unfortunately,...

Florida Opens, Closes Surplus Lines Opportunities

Aug 20 2014 // The recent legislative session in Tallahassee was relatively quiet, a matter some attribute to this being an election year. But even in quiet years, Florida lawmakers tend to make some noise about the insurance industry...

Workplace Penalties Mounting Up for Illinois Roofing Contractor

Aug 20 2014 // Roofing contractor Juan Manuel Antonio-Martinez has been cited for three willful safety violations for exposing workers to fall hazards at two separate residential home sites in Savoy, Ill., on March 26, 2014, and April 9,...

New Wisconsin Law Aims to Protect Against ‘Storm Chasers’

Jun 24 2014 // There’s a new state law that aims to protect homeowners against unscrupulous contractors who offer to repair the sort of storm damage that occurred last week in southern Wisconsin. The law’s provisions seem to...

No New Rights in Florida’s Homeowners’ Bill of Rights

Jun 23 2014 // Florida’s passage of a homeowners’ claims bill of rights left few satisfied after lawmakers largely codified current law while avoiding controversial issues such as the practice of policyholders assigning their...

Insurance Noodle Launches Integrated Small Contractors Facility

Jun 19 2014 // Insurance Noodle has launched an integrated property and casualty facility for small contractors, bringing together several major carriers via a single access point. The program was designed to help agents working with...