Protecting you
Levitt-Fuirst’s construction practice has a long history of protecting contractors with high quality, competitive insurance products. In addition to standard insurance programs for your business, we established and continue to manage Safety Group 458, a Workers Compensation safety group with the New York State Fund created in 1951. Our Surety department is likewise devoted to being here when you need us, from bid bond to closeout.
Levitt-Fuirst has a wide range of insurance carrier relationships and insurance products to meet your company’s needs.
Liability Insurance
- We specialize in insuring contractors, and our entire staff understands the insurance-related requirements of the construction community.
- We represent the leading insurance carriers for contractor liability insurance, including: CNA, Travelers, Hartford, Zurich, Chubb, St. Paul, Great American, and AIG.
- We handle indemnity agreements, waivers, additional insured requirements, and other contractor insurance-related issues on a daily basis.
Listen in on Jason Schiciano’s talk on Scaffold law and how it may affect you.
00:00 [Music]
00:13 my name is Jason sky Johnno and I’m
00:16 president of Lovett first associates in
00:18 Tarrytown New York I wanted to talk
00:21 about a topic today that a number of
00:24 boards of condominiums and coops are
00:26 unaware and it’s a topic that can
00:29 drastically affect their liability
00:31 exposure and ultimately their insurance
00:33 premiums for many years to come if it’s
00:35 not properly addressed the topic is
00:38 related to a law and New York State
00:41 called the New York State scaffold law
00:42 New York is the only state in the United
00:45 States of America that has this type of
00:47 law and basically the law says that if a
00:51 worker for instance for a contractor
00:53 working at the condo or co-op building
00:56 is injured particularly in a fall from a
00:59 height like a ladder or a tree or a roof
01:02 that the building will be absolutely
01:04 liable for that contractor’s injuries in
01:07 a court of law under a liability suit so
01:10 obviously the law has huge implications
01:13 and risks for buildings many boards are
01:16 under the assumption mistakenly that if
01:19 the board or the managing agent collects
01:22 a document called a certificate of
01:25 liability insurance and if that document
01:28 lists in the description box that the
01:33 building and the managing agent and
01:35 board are additional insurance on the
01:38 contractors general liability policy the
01:41 board assumes that they’ve got
01:42 protection and that one of the
01:44 contractors workers is injured that the
01:46 board in the building will be protected
01:49 by the contractors insurance policy
01:51 because this thing says their additional
01:53 insured in fact if you read the words
01:57 that are highlighted at the very top of
01:58 this document they say this certificate
02:01 is not worth anything it transfers no
02:04 rights no protection to the additional
02:07 insurance and it specifically says that
02:10 if the certificate holder is an
02:12 additional insured
02:13 the policies of the contractor must be
02:16 endorsed well what does that mean
02:18 endorsed most contractors general
02:22 liability policies have what’s called an
02:25 additional insured endorsement that
02:28 states that the contractor is allowed to
02:31 name anyone that the contractor wishes
02:34 as an additional insured any entity any
02:36 building any person as an additional
02:38 insured as long as the contractor agrees
02:41 to do that in a written agreement before
02:44 the work is started and before the
02:46 accident happens
02:47 that’s called a blanket additional
02:49 insured we’re required by written
02:50 contract endorsement such as this so the
02:54 thing is this certificate of insurance
02:56 is absolutely not
02:59 a written agreement a written agreement
03:01 states the parties and is also signed by
03:04 the parties to the agreement so in order
03:08 for a board and a building to be an
03:11 additional insured on a contractor’s
03:13 general liability policy in addition to
03:16 the certificate of insurance you need an
03:19 agreement two pieces of paper working
03:21 together the agreement which your
03:24 attorney should really write up in
03:26 review before it’s used it needs to
03:28 state a few things the contractor’s name
03:30 the type of work to be done the client
03:33 or the building the location of the
03:36 building and usually the managing agent
03:38 you’ll want to name is additionally
03:39 insured as well along with the board of
03:40 directors the agreement should state
03:43 that the contractor agrees to indemnify
03:46 and hold harmless the building the board
03:49 in the managing agent and that also the
03:52 contractor agrees to name all of those
03:55 parties as an additional insured on its
03:58 general liability policy the contractor
04:01 should also maintain workers
04:02 compensation in this agreement requires
04:04 that as well because a contractor such
04:06 as a sole proprietor working without
04:08 workers compensation adds even more risk
04:11 and liability to the building so with
04:13 these terms the contractor signs the
04:15 agreement and then the managing agent
04:17 can sign the agreement on behalf of the
04:19 managing agent and the building that
04:21 that he or she represents and now you
04:24 have a written agreement this agreement
04:26 does
04:26 have to be a separate agreement it can
04:28 be embedded into the contract for work
04:30 along with how much the works good at
04:33 cost and what with the scope of the
04:36 works going to be or can be separate but
04:38 there needs to be an agreement as the
04:41 endorsement states so now that you know
04:44 what’s required to be an additional
04:46 insured you might think well that sounds
04:49 pretty easy the fact of the matter is
04:50 most boards rely on their managing
04:53 agents to collect this type of
04:54 documentation and the problem with that
04:57 is if you have a typical managing agent
05:01 and in some cases these numbers are
05:03 actually understated but let’s say a
05:05 managing agent manages 40 buildings
05:07 let’s say and this wouldn’t be unusual
05:09 25 different contractors service that
05:12 building service one building plumber
05:15 roofer electrician brick pointing guy
05:20 masonry guy painter etc 25 contractors
05:24 and I already explained you need at
05:27 least two documents could be if the
05:30 additional or if the workers comp roof
05:32 is on a separate piece could be three
05:34 documents but let’s say two times 40
05:37 buildings times 25 contractors that’s
05:38 2,000 documents that that managing agent
05:41 needs to maintain for the 40 buildings
05:43 that his firm is or her firm is agent
05:47 for that’s a lot of documents and well a
05:51 lot of managing agents say that they do
05:53 this process well the fact of the matter
05:55 is it’s a very difficult process to do
05:58 well and completely all of the time
06:00 especially if you’re getting
06:02 certificates of insurance for each and
06:05 every policy or because the policy
06:06 renews each and every year and then you
06:08 should have a certificate of insurance
06:10 updated to show the current policies
06:12 enforce for each and every contractor so
06:16 the point of this discussion is that
06:19 boards may not be aware of the exposure
06:23 by not getting these documents in place
06:26 properly these are called risk transfer
06:28 documents and the risk in not doing this
06:31 properly
06:32 however small it is it’s a risk and it
06:35 can be severe is that if a contractor’s
06:37 employee is injured it
06:40 building and falling off of a ladder for
06:42 instance and is unable to work for the
06:45 rest of his life or her life he’s gonna
06:48 sue and because of the scaffold law
06:50 which is unique to the New York that
06:52 worker will win that lawsuit even if
06:55 he’s drunk
06:56 even if he’s been affected by drugs even
06:59 if he forgot all of his safety equipment
07:01 and broke all of the rules the building
07:03 will still be absolutely liable under
07:05 this law the only way to protect is
07:08 either the building’s insurance which if
07:11 the building’s insurance has to pay that
07:12 claim premiums are going to go through
07:14 the roof for the next five years the
07:15 quality of insurance the building will
07:17 be able to go get will go down or
07:20 ideally the contractors insurance and
07:22 the only way you get the contractors
07:24 insurance is making sure he has the
07:26 insurance with the certificate and
07:28 making sure you’re an additional insured
07:30 through the agreement I discussed
07:33 [Music]
00:13 my name is Jason sky Johnno and I’m
00:16 president of Lovett first associates in
00:18 Tarrytown New York I wanted to talk
00:21 about a topic today that a number of
00:24 boards of condominiums and coops are
00:26 unaware and it’s a topic that can
00:29 drastically affect their liability
00:31 exposure and ultimately their insurance
00:33 premiums for many years to come if it’s
00:35 not properly addressed the topic is
00:38 related to a law and New York State
00:41 called the New York State scaffold law
00:42 New York is the only state in the United
00:45 States of America that has this type of
00:47 law and basically the law says that if a
00:51 worker for instance for a contractor
00:53 working at the condo or co-op building
00:56 is injured particularly in a fall from a
00:59 height like a ladder or a tree or a roof
01:02 that the building will be absolutely
01:04 liable for that contractor’s injuries in
01:07 a court of law under a liability suit so
01:10 obviously the law has huge implications
01:13 and risks for buildings many boards are
01:16 under the assumption mistakenly that if
01:19 the board or the managing agent collects
01:22 a document called a certificate of
01:25 liability insurance and if that document
01:28 lists in the description box that the
01:33 building and the managing agent and
01:35 board are additional insurance on the
01:38 contractors general liability policy the
01:41 board assumes that they’ve got
01:42 protection and that one of the
01:44 contractors workers is injured that the
01:46 board in the building will be protected
01:49 by the contractors insurance policy
01:51 because this thing says their additional
01:53 insured in fact if you read the words
01:57 that are highlighted at the very top of
01:58 this document they say this certificate
02:01 is not worth anything it transfers no
02:04 rights no protection to the additional
02:07 insurance and it specifically says that
02:10 if the certificate holder is an
02:12 additional insured
02:13 the policies of the contractor must be
02:16 endorsed well what does that mean
02:18 endorsed most contractors general
02:22 liability policies have what’s called an
02:25 additional insured endorsement that
02:28 states that the contractor is allowed to
02:31 name anyone that the contractor wishes
02:34 as an additional insured any entity any
02:36 building any person as an additional
02:38 insured as long as the contractor agrees
02:41 to do that in a written agreement before
02:44 the work is started and before the
02:46 accident happens
02:47 that’s called a blanket additional
02:49 insured we’re required by written
02:50 contract endorsement such as this so the
02:54 thing is this certificate of insurance
02:56 is absolutely not
02:59 a written agreement a written agreement
03:01 states the parties and is also signed by
03:04 the parties to the agreement so in order
03:08 for a board and a building to be an
03:11 additional insured on a contractor’s
03:13 general liability policy in addition to
03:16 the certificate of insurance you need an
03:19 agreement two pieces of paper working
03:21 together the agreement which your
03:24 attorney should really write up in
03:26 review before it’s used it needs to
03:28 state a few things the contractor’s name
03:30 the type of work to be done the client
03:33 or the building the location of the
03:36 building and usually the managing agent
03:38 you’ll want to name is additionally
03:39 insured as well along with the board of
03:40 directors the agreement should state
03:43 that the contractor agrees to indemnify
03:46 and hold harmless the building the board
03:49 in the managing agent and that also the
03:52 contractor agrees to name all of those
03:55 parties as an additional insured on its
03:58 general liability policy the contractor
04:01 should also maintain workers
04:02 compensation in this agreement requires
04:04 that as well because a contractor such
04:06 as a sole proprietor working without
04:08 workers compensation adds even more risk
04:11 and liability to the building so with
04:13 these terms the contractor signs the
04:15 agreement and then the managing agent
04:17 can sign the agreement on behalf of the
04:19 managing agent and the building that
04:21 that he or she represents and now you
04:24 have a written agreement this agreement
04:26 does
04:26 have to be a separate agreement it can
04:28 be embedded into the contract for work
04:30 along with how much the works good at
04:33 cost and what with the scope of the
04:36 works going to be or can be separate but
04:38 there needs to be an agreement as the
04:41 endorsement states so now that you know
04:44 what’s required to be an additional
04:46 insured you might think well that sounds
04:49 pretty easy the fact of the matter is
04:50 most boards rely on their managing
04:53 agents to collect this type of
04:54 documentation and the problem with that
04:57 is if you have a typical managing agent
05:01 and in some cases these numbers are
05:03 actually understated but let’s say a
05:05 managing agent manages 40 buildings
05:07 let’s say and this wouldn’t be unusual
05:09 25 different contractors service that
05:12 building service one building plumber
05:15 roofer electrician brick pointing guy
05:20 masonry guy painter etc 25 contractors
05:24 and I already explained you need at
05:27 least two documents could be if the
05:30 additional or if the workers comp roof
05:32 is on a separate piece could be three
05:34 documents but let’s say two times 40
05:37 buildings times 25 contractors that’s
05:38 2,000 documents that that managing agent
05:41 needs to maintain for the 40 buildings
05:43 that his firm is or her firm is agent
05:47 for that’s a lot of documents and well a
05:51 lot of managing agents say that they do
05:53 this process well the fact of the matter
05:55 is it’s a very difficult process to do
05:58 well and completely all of the time
06:00 especially if you’re getting
06:02 certificates of insurance for each and
06:05 every policy or because the policy
06:06 renews each and every year and then you
06:08 should have a certificate of insurance
06:10 updated to show the current policies
06:12 enforce for each and every contractor so
06:16 the point of this discussion is that
06:19 boards may not be aware of the exposure
06:23 by not getting these documents in place
06:26 properly these are called risk transfer
06:28 documents and the risk in not doing this
06:31 properly
06:32 however small it is it’s a risk and it
06:35 can be severe is that if a contractor’s
06:37 employee is injured it
06:40 building and falling off of a ladder for
06:42 instance and is unable to work for the
06:45 rest of his life or her life he’s gonna
06:48 sue and because of the scaffold law
06:50 which is unique to the New York that
06:52 worker will win that lawsuit even if
06:55 he’s drunk
06:56 even if he’s been affected by drugs even
06:59 if he forgot all of his safety equipment
07:01 and broke all of the rules the building
07:03 will still be absolutely liable under
07:05 this law the only way to protect is
07:08 either the building’s insurance which if
07:11 the building’s insurance has to pay that
07:12 claim premiums are going to go through
07:14 the roof for the next five years the
07:15 quality of insurance the building will
07:17 be able to go get will go down or
07:20 ideally the contractors insurance and
07:22 the only way you get the contractors
07:24 insurance is making sure he has the
07:26 insurance with the certificate and
07:28 making sure you’re an additional insured
07:30 through the agreement I discussed
07:33 [Music]
Workers Compensation Insurance
Levitt-Fuirst and The Builders Institute of Westchester co-manage Safety Group 458, which provides workers compensation insurance to nearly 1,000 building trade contractors throughout the state.
Certificates of Insurance
Levitt-Fuirst has a dedicated Certificate Department to service the most critical daily insurance-related need of the construction industry: Proof of Insurance certificates. We typically provide insurance certificates the same day of the request and have our computers connected directly to the State Fund for their certificates.
Automobile
Levitt-Fuirst provides automobile insurance policies for small and large company fleets consisting of cars, light-duty trucks and heavy duty trucks. We annually review you policies to recommend changes that can make the insurance more efficient.
Construction Equipment
Levitt-Fuirst provides equipment floaters to insure valuable construction equipment and special vehicles both at the shop and on the job site.
Builders Risk
Levitt-Fuirst issues builders risk policies in-house. Our clients include a homebuilder with over $120 Million in home sales per year and a $100 Million Florida Hotel under construction.
Surety and Bonding
Visit our Surety and Bonding page to learn more about this essential service.
