Builder Coverage? ?Forget It', Says Agent Poll

By Mark E. Ruquet

NU Online News Service, Dec. 6, 3:46 p.m.EST?New York builders are hard pressed to secure liabilityinsurance coverage, according to a survey of independent agents inthe state.

The online poll, by the Syracuse-based Independent InsuranceAgents Association of New York, also found it is getting harder tofind insurance for some other lines and prices continue toescalate.

Their data was collected in an online survey that asked agentsto rate the availability of a number of property-casualty insurancelines.

The survey, the association said, reinforces its opinion thatthere is "a severe crisis in the liability insurance market servingNew York's building contractors."

According to the results, 83 percent of the responding agentssaid that insurance for construction risk was "much less available"and more than 86 percent said that the cost for insurance forcontractors as "expensive" compared to two years ago.

Ninety-two percent of the respondents said at least one of themultiple companies they represent refuses to write new constructionaccounts.

"The crisis in the contractors' insurance market in New York iscompounded by a strict liability standard in the state's Labor Law,which can't be found anywhere else in the United States," said JohnR. Costello, IIAANY chairman of the bard, in a statement.

He added that agents from around the state were meeting thisweek with their state legislative representatives in an effort toreform the situation.

The survey, conducted Oct. 14 to 28, consisted of 61 questionson a host of insurance topics. The survey received 182 memberresponses from around the state. IIAANY noted that some agents didnot respond to every question because they did not write thoselines or did not have the time to complete the survey.

Other lines that agents said have become less available werepersonal automobile [more than 88 percent said it was either muchless or somewhat less available], commercial property [more than 92percent said it was either much less or somewhat less available],and commercial general liability [94 percent said it was eithermuch less or somewhat less available].

The survey also indicated that more carriers are cancelingcontracts and not writing lines of business.

In the past 12 months, 91 percent of respondents said somecarriers have stopped writing one or more forms of coverage.Forty-one percent that one or two carriers they used stoppedwriting coverage and 38 percent put the figure between three tofour.

Personal auto led the way with 69 percent of the members sayingcarriers stopped writing the line, followed by workers'compensation at 57 percent and commercial general liability at 53percent.

Generally, the majority of respondents said rates wereincreasing anywhere from 11 to 25 percent in most lines.

A full survey summary and the complete report are available atthe association's Web site at www.iiaany.org.