News and current information for our surety bond clients.
Insurers are looking for new ways to control losses, improve underwriting and attract business after last year’s catastrophes failed to induce marketwide rate hikes. Greater use of technology to reduce exposures and improve safety are being introduced as underwriters seek to differentiate their services, insurers say. And market strategies are changing after recent mergers and acquisition have transformed some insurers. …
Sovereign immunity is the legal doctrine, dating back to the days of the British monarchy, that a sovereign or state cannot commit a legal wrong and is immune from suit: in essence, “the king can do no wrong.” Fulton County v. SOCO Contracting Co., a recent decision by the Georgia state appeals court, reminds contractors on government projects that sovereign …
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has set aside $685 million in congressional funding for several State Veterans Home construction projects. The projects will be funded through the VA State Veterans Home Construction Grant Program and will be used for repairs, renovation, or new construction. This is the largest appropriation to the grant program in its 50-year history and is …
FITCHBURG — Last year, Fitchburg State University exited early from two construction contracts with a Haverhill company that has run into conflicts in other communities around the state. According to university officials, FSU contracted with GTC Construction Management on two projects: the renovation of Percival Hall and the creation of a “game studio” in the Main Street Theater Block. Read …
In 1972, Hiram DuRousseau Sr. decided he wanted more out of life. He bought a tractor, bush hog and box blade. “You can’t go wrong cutting grass,” says the family patriarch. Both Hiram Sr. and his wife, Jeanette, already had jobs. He was a plant shift worker, she worked at AT&T. But both used their off hours to get their …
A judge Monday declined to block Austin from belatedly terminating its contract with Waller Creek Tunnel builder S.J. Louis – allowing the cancellation to stand, for now, as the city’s response to what it called massive flaws in the tunnel. However, the firm’s breach of contract lawsuit will proceed. Tell me more >>>
As a contracting business grows in capacity to handle projects, an important question that arises is how to also increase your capacity to obtain larger amounts on your bonds required for construction projects. Without increasing your bond line, you are limited in the amount of work you can undertake which in turn is necessary to grow your business further. Read …
A Walton College economist Mervin Jebaraj doesn’t see much upside to tariffs that President Donald Trump says he plans to impose. On Thursday (March 8), Trump pulled the trigger on tariffs for steel and aluminum imports. The President’s order places a 25% tariff on steel imports and a 10% tariff on aluminum imports, and created exemptions for imports from Canada …
Legislation passed late last year in Ontario that requires surety bonds for municipal contracts will likely expand the surety market in both the public and public-private sectors in Canada, industry sources say. The legislation may also have a knock-on effect on other provinces, they add. In British Columbia, the B.C. Law Institute is currently undertaking a review of the Builders …
The Wells Fargo report matches up with the Associated General Contractors of America’s and Sage Construction and Real Estate’s 2018 outlook report released in early January. That report found that 75% of the construction companies surveyed planned to add to their payrolls this year, a sentiment spurred on by lower tax rates and expected regulatory reform. Read more here >>>
