A New NPE Seminar You Can’t Afford to Miss

Say the word “contract” and most people will start thinking about the weather and what’s for dinner. That’s because contracts are not only daunting and intimidating, they are boring.

But contractors who have lost money (or a customer) over a poorly worded contract – or worse yet a contract they didn’t understand – can tell you their tale of woe. Contracts form the basis of your business and boring or not, you need to write and sign contracts that are to your advantage and that protect you.

To make working with contracts easier, National Pavement Expo has invited Scott Cerosky, Fairmont Specialty, Crum & Forster Enterprise, to make the language of contracts easier to understand for everyone in his new session, “Contractual Language: Who is Your Contract Protecting?”

A veteran of the pavement maintenance industry (he’s spent years helping sweeping contractors with their insurance needs), Cerosky now helps the full range of stripers, sealcoaters, pavers and sweepers protect their business. And he says the contracts contractors are using often leave the door open to short-term problems (such as not getting paid for all your work) or long-term problems (where the life of the business is threatened).

“You wouldn’t believe the problems contractors are causing themselves or opening themselves up to just because of the contracts they are using,” Cerosky says. “Contracts are full of terms that sound simple but really aren’t. There’s just so much ‘legalese’ in them that people often gloss over the terms when they really need to make sure they understand them. They can impose liability on your company for things that you may not be liable for and, more importantly, your insurance may not cover.

“The contracts you use can make or break your business and too often people don’t pay attention to them because of the way they’re written. Hopefully we can provide solutions for this issue.”

In fact, Cerosky says that making appropriate changes to contracts may result in big savings and more importantly having your insurance respond to claims as a result of properly crafted contracts.”

“The overall goal of the session is to simplify language in contracts so contractors have a better understanding of what they’re promising and what their customers and subcontractors are agreeing to,” Cerosky says. “People who attend will be at a huge advantage in their market where their contracts are concerned.”

As the seminar description says, “You’ll leave with a better understanding of what certain insurance requirements mean to your business, how to negotiate contract language with customers, what you should request from subcontractors to protect you and your customers, and more. Make sure you aren’t compromising your business with the contracts you sign!”

“Contractual Language: Who is Your Contract Protecting?” will be held Thursday, Jan. 28 from 10:00-11:30 a.m. For details and to register visit www.nationalpavementexpo.com.

Scott Cerosky says he is happy to answer questions about his upcoming session. He can be reached at 914-714-0787 or [email protected].