News Releases

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The ACE Group today announced it will release the results of an industry-wide survey on construction safety conducted by Advisen and sponsored by ACE during the annual IRMI Construction Risk Conference to be held in San Diego, CA on November 18, 2013. The purpose of the survey was to define the current state of construction safety and to provide a benchmark for organizations looking to improve their safety culture and programs. The survey was distributed to more than 2,200 risk managers and brokers who focus on the construction industry. Key findings include:

• A large majority of contractors are committed to safeguarding their workers, however, there is a substantial opportunity for improvement. Currently, one in six risk managers revealed they do not develop project-specific safety programs.
• Survey respondents indicated that the upfront cost of safety can be overwhelming for both small and large enterprises.

The full results of the survey will be shared by a panel comprised of Geoffrey Hall, Senior Vice President, ACE Construction; Jim Blinn, Executive Vice President, Advisen Ltd.; and Brian F. Cooper, Managing Director, National Construction Division, Arthur J. Gallagher & Company.

ACE will also be represented on various panel sessions throughout the conference. On November 19, Joseph Crowther, Vice President and ACE Construction Claims Client Executive will participate in a session on Best Practice for Wrap-Up Claims. That same day, Stephen Buonpane, Vice President, ACE Construction will co-present in a session with Joe Russo, Senior Vice President/Regional Practice Leader, and David Risko, National Casualty Broker, both from Aon Risk Services, on Building a Better Marketing Submission. Finally, Diana Eichfeld, Assistant Vice President, ACE Environmental Risk and Frank Westfall, Vice President, ESIS, Inc., Health Safety & Environmental Services, will lead a session on Water-Based Environmental Exposures in Construction on November 20^th. For full session details, please visit the IRMI Construction Risk Conferencewebsite.

Commenting on ACE’s participation, William Hazelton, Executive Vice President, ACE Construction Practice Leader said, “We are pleased to be able to partner with Advisen to produce our first industry survey on safety and to provide the results at one of the industry’s largest events. We are also proud that several of our industry experts will represent ACE on various panels throughout the conference.” He added, “It’s crucial that safety be a key priority for all those involved in construction projects. Economic conditions and the evolving role of the risk manager can affect an organization’s safety culture. It was important to ACE that we solicit feedback from brokers and risk managers to provide the industry with valuable information on current safety benchmarks.” He concluded, “ACE recognizes the complex and technical risks inherent to this industry. In addition to providing value-added information on current trends through surveys and other thought leadership, our practice is committed to offering a full and comprehensive insurance program that includes not only underwriting, but engineering, risk and claims management services to help manage the wide range of risks faced by the construction industry.”

ACE’s Construction Industry Practice consists of business units that offer a broad suite of products and services including:

• Workers Compensation, General Liability & Automobile Liability Risk Transfer
• Environmental, including Contractors Pollution Liability & Contractors Professional Liability
• Inland Marine, including Builders Risk & Contractors Equipment
• International Casualty Enterprise & Package Solutions, including Defense Base Act Workers Compensation
• Umbrella/Excess
• Wrap Ups & other project-specific programs
• Specialty Construction Claims
• Construction Risk Management Services
• Surety
• Professional Liability for architects and engineers, construction managers and trade contractors
• Public and Private company D&O, EPLI, Fidelity and Fiduciary Liability

Insurance is provided by insurance companies within the ACE Group. All products may not be available in all jurisdictions. The product information above is a summary only. The insurance policy actually issued contains the terms and limits of the contract. For more information about ACE’s Construction Industry Practice and its range of products and services, please visit our website.

ACE USA is the U.S.-based retail operating division of the ACE Group, and is rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best Company and AA- (Very Strong) by Standard & Poor’s. ACE USA, through its underwriting companies, provides insurance products and services throughout the U.S. Additional information on ACE USA and its products and services can be found at www.acegroup.com/us.

The ACE Group is one of the world’s largest multiline property and casualty insurers. With operations in 53 countries, ACE provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. ACE Limited, the parent company of the ACE Group, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ACE) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Additional information can be found at: www.acegroup.com.

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