David Adelstein is a Florida Bar board certified construction lawyer that represents developers, owners, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, design professionals, and sureties in construction defect claims.
Construction defect claims involve important insurance issues such as commercial general liability (CGL) issues (referred to as a third-party liability policy) and, sometimes, builder’s risk or property insurance issues (referred to as first-party policies). Understanding the role that insurance plays in construction is important for risk assessment purposes. Equally important is understanding coverage and navigating and positioning claims to maximize potential insurance coverage (including the consideration of bad faith claims).
Also, on certain private projects, and on Florida public and federal projects, a performance bond is typically issued by the general contractor to guarantee its performance under its contract with the owner. A performance bond is not CGL insurance (or builder’s risk insurance) as it is designed to cover a different risk. However, when a performance bond is issued, an owner wants to ensure it properly preserves its rights under the performance bond.
Finally, design defect claims (design errors and omissions) involve the application of professional liability insurance. Design defect claims may also involve the standard of care of the design professional.
Check out this summary for a better understanding of insurance applicable to construction.
David Adelstein has experience prosecuting and defending construction and design defect claims and assisting entities with insurance and performance bond issues. He also lectures and blogs about various legal issues pertaining to insurance (CGL, professional liability, and property insurance such as builder’s risk) at www.floridaconstructionlegalupdates.com.
Please contact David Adelstein at dadelstein@gmail.com or (954) 361-4720 if you have questions or would like more information regarding construction insurance and performance bonds. You can follow David Adelstein on Twitter @DavidAdelstein1.