ForConstructionPros.com

It’s no secret that liability and workers’ compensation insurance costs are going up, with the construction industry getting hit particularly hard over the last few years.

A number of factors, including more insurance claims, rising fear of lawsuits, huge losses from the 9/11 terrorist attacks and a weak stock market have all led to rapidly increasing premiums.

In a recent survey of Concrete Concepts readers, nearly 65 percent reported that their insurance premiums have increased by more than 25 percent over the last year. About 30 percent have seen increases of more than 50 percent.

“There’s an increased sensitivity to hidden defects in buildings, especially in residential,” says Don Marks, president of Form Works, Inc., a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.--based commercial concrete contractor. “Some of the insurance companies are just refusing to cover construction companies anymore, and those that will cover it are making it very expensive.”

Besides facing the challenge of insuring his own 250--employee company, Marks is also the chairman of the American Society of Concrete Contractors’ Insurance Committee.