Every summer, invited delegates representing all parts of the insurance community converge at Marsh JLT Specialty’s head office for our annual Construction Academy.
The construction experts at Marsh JLT Specialty are renowned industry-wide for imparting their expertise via blogs, technical bulletins and white papers. During the Construction Academy, they team up with colleagues from the wider Marsh JLT business and the construction and insurance industries to share their construction insurance knowledge with risk managers and insurance underwriters from around the world.
This month, our experts engaged with 30 delegates for three days of talks, seminars and group exercises focused on construction risk management and related insurance. Technical information was relayed, case studies analysed and global issues affecting construction discussed and deliberated on.
The intricacies of construction insurance coverage related to Defect Exclusion (DE) and London Engineering Group (LEG) clauses were among the contractual issues untangled by our technical experts. And the impact of pan-industry risks such as cyber attacks and terrorism, political and security threats were among the global topics discussed with attendees.
Key discussions and debates included:
Current insurance market conditions
Delegates were most interested to learn of the current construction insurance market conditions and the effect of significant losses on underwriters’ appetite for construction business. The impact of major international losses, particularly on hydroelectric projects, was discussed at length and delegates were given practical advice and strategies as to how renewals and the inception of new placement can best be managed through preparation and planning.
Discover more: Find out how to optimise your renewals process and use it to promote your company: Insurance Renewals: Sharpen Your Business Edge.
Interface of risk and insurance
We were grateful to once again welcome Colin Hamling as a guest speaker to the 2019 Academy. Colin’s background is in underwriting and rail risks but latterly has served as insurance manager for both the Crossrail and HS2 projects. He provided delegates with a fascinating insight into how risk and insurance issues interface on major infrastructure projects.
Discover more: Joint ventures (JVs) are a crucial element of large infrastructure projects, but they can create complex insurance-related issues. Find out how to ensure all parties are adequately covered in our white paper, Insured Status – When Am I Insured?
Importance of underwriting information
The effect of quality underwriting information is often underestimated in securing the best possible terms for a construction liability insurance placement. This is particularly important in a hardening market where construction insurance companies are being more discriminating about where their capacity is deployed. The presentation was delivered by Marsh JLT Specialty experts alongside Tom Major of Allianz, one of the market's leading construction all risks (CAR) underwriters.
Discover more: Read how your business is affected by a hardening CAR insurance market
We’d like to thank all the attendees and speakers for making this year’s event such a pleasure to host. Please email Anna Wiatr to sign up to our mailing list to be notified about next year’s event, and to receive regular construction insights from the experts at Marsh JLT Specialty.