Walter J. Adams, Jr. of Berkley Alliance Managers to Discuss Professional Liability in a Post-COVID-19 World at CLM 2021 Annual Conference

Posted by & filed under News Releases.

Albany, N.Y. (July 21, 2021) – Walter J. Adams, Jr., vice president and assistant claims manager at Berkley Alliance Managers, a Berkley Company, will discuss ways to Get Ahead of the Claim: Professional Liability in a Post-COVID-19 World at the CLM 2021 Annual Conference to be held at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis in Atlanta, Georgia. During the roundtable discussion scheduled for Thursday, August 12th at 2:00 p.m. EST, Adams will highlight the novel claims faced by design and construction professionals in a pandemic environment and proactive methods to protect against increased exposures.

“Nearly every individual, organization and profession nationwide were impacted by the coronavirus,” says Adams. “Many construction projects were either delayed or canceled, which created incentives to accept less than desirable projects or contracts. This roundtable will profile the many challenges professionals overcame during this time and the risk management strategies that will help them navigate through a post-COVID-19 world.”

Read more »

10 Reasons Why Design Firms Should Use the BDP Risk® Learning Management System

Posted by & filed under BDP Blog.

By Robert J. Connor, JD, CIC
Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, Berkley Alliance Managers, a Berkley Company

July 12, 2021

Design professionals are busy these days and often find it difficult to step back from their day-to-day business responsibilities to delve into the world of risk management education.

Fortunately, Berkley Design Professional has made it easy for our policyholders to find just the right risk management sessions and courses! The BDP Risk® Learning Management System (LMS), provides 24/7 online access to relevant risk and practice management content, streamlined online learning and education activity tracking and reporting.

Let’s take a look at the top ten reasons to use the BDP Risk® LMS today!

Read more »

Need Excess? We’ve Got You Covered!

Posted by & filed under BDP Blog.

By Robert J. Connor, JD, CIC
Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, Berkley Alliance Managers, a Berkley Company

June 10, 2021

You receive a call from your design firm client asking for higher limits for their professional liability insurance policy. And you think…will their current carrier provide the Excess limits? If yes, has the firm reached its limit on the number of Excess endorsements on their policy? If no, what do you do?

For either of those questions, Berkley Design Professional has your answer – BDP Excess. We have an admitted, follow-form Excess Professional Liability policy that can be written over a competitor’s entire policy, on a specific client basis or on a specific job basis.  We offer limits up to $10 million.  In addition, BDP Excess is available to each of our brokers in all states. How is that for flexibility?

At Berkley Design Professional, we recognize that when your clients call with an Excess request, you need to be able to respond quickly to meet their needs. Otherwise, they may start looking for another broker. As a former broker myself, I can relate to that scenario as it happened to me. I lost a considerable account because the incumbent professional liability insurance carrier would not provide a specific-job excess quote and I could not find a viable, cost-effective alternative in sufficient time to meet my client’s needs.

Read more »

Fee Dispute Mitigation Reimbursements Coverage

Posted by & filed under BDP Blog.

A small silver lining in an otherwise difficult situation

By Liz Molina
Assistant Vice President, Senior Claims Examiner, Berkley Alliance Managers, a Berkley Company

May 10, 2021

As long as I have been managing claims for design firms, one of the primary risk management principles held by architects and engineers (A&E) professional liability insurance (PLI) carriers is that a design professional should avoid suing their clients for unpaid fees.

Why? Because a suit for outstanding fees is usually met with a counterclaim for professional negligence. And, while in general, those allegations trigger coverage under an A&E PLI policy, the attempt to recover the outstanding fees is not covered because fees are not considered damages as defined in A&E PLI policies. Unfortunately, the outstanding fees become part of the negotiations when attempts are made to resolve the negligence allegations. In most cases, the design firm has to significantly compromise its fee claim – and sometimes completely walk away from it – in order to get the negligence claim resolved, even when some of the negligence allegations lack merit or would be difficult to prove. This leaves the design firm frustrated because they end up not getting paid, while at the same time having to spend their policy deductible to defend and/or settle the negligence claim. In essence, they actually lose more money, which does not even include the lost billable time that was spent helping to defend the claim instead of working on projects that generated income.

Read more »

Complimentary Webinar | Design-Build Public Infrastructure Projects: Risks and Challenges for Consulting Engineers, and Their Professional Liability Insurers

Posted by & filed under Events.

Presented by:
David J. Hatem, PC, Partner, Chair, Professional Practices Group, Donovan | Hatem, LLP
Andrew D. Mendelson, FAIA, Senior Vice President, Chief Risk Management Officer, Berkley Design Professional

Tuesday, May 18, 2021
10:00 am – 11:30 am Pacific Daylight Time
1.5 AIA Learning Units
1.5 RCEP Professional Development Hours

This webinar has been recorded and is available on demand for Berkley Design Professional policyholders and our appointed agents and brokers on the BDP Risk® Learning Management System.

bdp Risk® lms login

Berkley DP is pleased to offer a live webinar featuring David J. Hatem, PC, and Andrew D. Mendelson, FAIA.

Design-Build (DB) is increasingly popular as the delivery method of choice for many governmental entities (federal, state, and local) for public infrastructure projects. Those owners are attracted not only to the ability to contract on a fixed-price basis with a design builder who is responsible for both design and construction but also to the opportunity to transfer substantial risk—which would traditionally be retained by the owner—to that design-builder.

Read more »

BDP Risk® Education That Makes a Difference

Posted by & filed under BDP Blog.

By Diane P. Mika, Vice President and Director of Risk Management Education,
Berkley Design Professional, a Berkley Company | April 12, 2021

Education is a good thing, right? We at Berkley Design Professional certainly believe so. Our BDP Risk® courses and resources are intended to help our insured architects and engineers improve project management practices, enhance business performance and minimize risk.

But belief and proof are not the same. So we went to our data.

The Numbers Tell a Story

Our curious data scientists (otherwise known as actuaries) pored through the numbers—course participation, claim data and underwriting files—and the results were overwhelmingly positive. BDP Risk® education makes a difference in claim frequency, customer loyalty and broker success.

Read more »

How Valuable is Berkley Design Professional’s First Claim Deductible Credit?

Posted by & filed under BDP Blog.

By Robert J. Connor, JD, CIC
Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, Berkley Alliance Managers, a Berkley Company

While professional liability is a real risk to all design firms and purchasing professional liability insurance is a prudent course of action, the fact is that many design firms never have a claim. Berkley Design Professional’s First Claim Deductible Credit recognizes that fact and provides policyholders with significant savings on their deductible if they meet the requirements in the policy.

The specific policy1 language is:
If the first Claim you ever report to us is made against you:

  1. Greater than 24 months after the Knowledge Date shown on the Policy Declarations, then your Deductible obligation for that Claim may be reduced by 25%, subject to a maximum reduction of $40,000; or
  2. Greater than 36 months after the Knowledge Date shown on the Policy Declarations, then your Deductible obligation for that Claim may be reduced by 50%, subject to a maximum reduction of $40,000

If more than one Deductible Credit applies, your Deductible obligation will be reduced by 50%, subject to a maximum reduction of 50%.

Read more »

Evolution of the Standard of Care Due to Climate Change

Posted by & filed under Published Articles.

By Andrew D. Mendelson and Dion N. Cominos | Sunday, January 3, 2021

Legal and practice standards for design and construction professionals are evolving due to climate change. While the cause of climate change is an oft-debated topic, the fact of it is largely undeniable. The earth’s global surface temperature and water levels are rising, while severe storms and climatic events have increased dramatically across the United States and not just in coastal areas.

Consequently, the standards of care and legal requirements applicable to design professionals, contractors and others involved in construction will need to be taken into consideration as part of the overall construction process.

Read more »

Complimentary Webinar: Enhancing Design Firm Value through Profitability and Effective Business Management

Posted by & filed under Events.

Presented by:
Ian C. Rusk, ASA, CM&AA, Managing Principal, ROG+Partners, LLC
Andrew D. Mendelson, FAIA, Senior Vice President, Chief Risk Management Officer, Berkley Design Professional

Tuesday, February 9, 2021
10:00 am – 11:30 am Pacific Daylight Time
1.5 AIA CES LUs
1.5 RCEP PDHs
Berkley DP policyholders who participate in this program can qualify for a 15% Risk Management Education credit. Contact your agent for further information*

This webinar has been recorded and is available on demand for Berkley Design Professional policyholders and our appointed agents and brokers on the BDP Risk® Learning Management System.

bdp Risk® lms login

Read more »

Well-written, Clearly-Defined Contracts Make for Successful Outcomes

Posted by & filed under Published Articles.

by Walter J. Adams, Jr., Berkley Alliance Managers, a Berkley Company

Once again, the American economy is in flux. We’re all now in a wait-and-see game with a virus that is endangering the well-being of both individuals and businesses worldwide.

For some contractors, the projects scheduled before COVID-19 will move forward without delay. Others will be placed on hold or cancelled which will jeopardize the incomes and livelihoods of our nation’s contractors, subcontractors, engineers and architects.

As a result, the written contracts agreed upon between all parties have never been more important. Given the unpredictability shadowing the entire construction industry, plus state and federal regulations and mandates changing daily, every detail of every project should be clearly defined. Agreements that carefully state the risks, roles, responsibilities and rights of every participant, including subcontractors, are essential for ensuring successful, profitable outcomes during the best of times, let alone when circumstances are uncertain at best.

Read more »