C-Risk participates in IRMI 20th Construction Risk Conference

Atlanta, GA, November 14, 2000 – C-Risk, Inc., Inc. President, David L. Grenier, was a presenter at Tuesday's Construction Cafe lunch at the International Risk Management Institute (IRMI) 20th Construction Risk Conference held at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. The Construction Cafe is considered to be one of the most popular conference sessions and includes an expert on an applicable topic leading a roundtable discussion with project owners, construction contractors, insurance and risk management professionals. These sessions facilitate one-on-one learning and networking with fellow professionals.

Mr. Grenier's session was on wrap-ups, and was entitled, "Evaluating Your Insurance Reps Role in Your Wrap-Up Insurance Program". With the proliferation of wrap-up insurance programs, owners and contractors need to know if there insurance professional has the knowledge and capabilities required to successfully manage and administrate a wrap-up insurance program, owner-controlled or contractor-controlled. This session focused on some nuts & bolts issues regarding wrap-ups and what is specifically required for the design, implementation and close-out.

Items discussed included, evaluating an insurance professional's qualifications and construction knowledge, importance of wrap-up feasibility studies, selecting the best wrap-up administrator, wrap-up scope definition (mapping the process before you pick your team), developing an action plan and responsibility matrix, selecting the right construction insurer (coverage and services vs. lowest price), and evaluating the management and reporting capabilities of the wrap-up administration system.

Mr. Grenier led-off the discussion by stating that "the most important factor in a successful wrap-up program is that it needs to be a win-win for everyone involved in order to remove any apprehension or hostility from the process". He also emphasized to the group that "wrap-ups were not the answer for insurance on all large-scale construction projects, and that each project and/or program needs to be individually evaluated on it's own merits. Wrap-ups are for the most part, an extension of contract administration and project control, which includes the integration of contract control, financial control, and resource control with loss control, claim control, and document control".

Mr. Grenier's session was filled by nine participants, mostly owners, contractors and risk managers, with a couple of national brokers in attendance, providing a good mix and discussion forum. Most had a vested interest in making sure they were on the right track with respect to their own wrap-up programs. Attendees included Mr. Ralph Johnson, President of the Associated General Contractors of America and Senior Vice President of Turner Construction Company, the director of insurance and risk management for a $800 million rolling wrap-up program for a large metropolitan city school district in Florida, and the audit manager and director of risk management for an international financial services corporation.

Several owners and contractors in attendance were just starting their wrap-up programs, so they found the Construction Cafe session and networking opportunities to be invaluable.