Drones and the City

Drones seem to be everywhere in our lives, and they are beginning to make their way into the professional setting for architects and engineers as well.  That is, it’s emerging in some cities while others are a bit slower to change for several reasons.  New York City is one of those cities slow to embrace this change as reported by the Wall Street Journal.  The path to legalizing drone use within the city has been 18 months in the ...

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A Visit with Beazley Insurance

 

 

We are all smiles whenever Debbie Wiechardt from Beazley visits! Beazley Insurance is a Lloyds of London syndicate that began in 1986, and they have been writing insurance for architects & engineers ever since. Beazley USA was established in 2004, and in 2005 became the first Lloyds of London syndicate ever to open an American office. Maloney & Company, ...

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Client in the Spotlight

 

Last month, the New York Times published a story about a Maloney & Company, LLC client, Bonetti/Kozerski Architecture. This talented duo was looking for a new spot in Pennsylvania to not only build a weekend house for their families, but to also have a work of art to show off to their clients. Their idea of building their showpiece from scratch went out the window when Bonetti came across a 50-acre compound with a 8,000-square-foot house built in 1976. The ...

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2018 Contract Review Guide

One of Maloney & Company’s commitments to our architect and engineer clients is to give them advice and suggestions on managing the risk they take on when providing design services. Among many risk management tips and suggestions, our clients receive a 10 page Contract Review Guide, updated annually.

Within the Contract Review Guide, we address questions like:

Q: What if I don’t sign the contract my client gave me? Or if my client doesn’t sign the one I prepared?

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Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses

 

 

Maloney & Company, LLC’s principal, Michael J. Maloney, rounded out 2017 by graduating from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program at Babson College. The program, whose curriculum was developed by Babson College, is highly competitive and those accepted learn through a series of nine course modules and workshops with top Goldman executives that give hands on experience with ...

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Starting a Design Office?

 

Architects and engineers planning to start their own firms will ask us about insurance for the new venture. Typically, small firms start with one or more of these three types of policies:

 

1) Professional Liability Policy

This type of policy pays for legal fees and damage awards connected to an A/E’s design work. This coverage is important because an architect or engineer is personally liable for his or her professional services. There is no way to organize or incorporate to shield yourself ...

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Site Safety

By Michael J. Maloney

 

There are two sure-fire ways to get tagged with liability for site safety:

  1. Assume site safety responsibility in your contract with the owner, or
  2. Assume site safety responsibility by your behavior on the jobsite.

Option 1 is pretty clear cut, and is easy enough to avoid.  But you and your employees should be on your guard against Option 2.  If your contract specifically excludes site safety responsibility (as it should), ...

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When Clients Ask to Be Added to Your Policy:

First Question: What Status Do They Want?

Additional Named Insured: this status is never given to a client, nor would a client ever want this status if he or she realized the implications. A Named Insured under the policy receives the full scope of protection under the policy, so it is appropriate only for the design firm and any related companies. If a client is a Named Insured, they could be held responsible for premiums, they could cancel the policy, and you ...

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Travelers CyberRisk for Professional Firms

 

According to Travelers Business Risk Index 2015, cyber risks are the number one concern overall for professional firms.  Just one virus or resourceful hacker can cause huge financial and reputational consequences for a design firm, and that’s why it is important to be prepared with the right coverage.

Here is a claim scenario: A design firm stored its customers’ information in a third-party cloud computing environment which suffered a major data breach, compromising the information of thousands of the firm’s customers. ...

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“As Schools Open, Design Professionals Fear that Claims Will Too”

 

school-claims-by-state

 

Recent studies from Victor O. Schinnerer show that besides residential projects, schools and colleges generate the highest number of claims and the most expensive claims, particularly in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. This is due to a number of factors.

  • School projects don’t usually involve an individual client, but rather an elected school board with diverse wants and expectations ...
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