The Department of Buildings of the City of New York’s recent move to better regulate crawler crane operations in New York City has led to concern that a stricter regulatory environment could make a difficult coverage area even more challenging for insurers, according to several industry participants.
New York is an already risky place for construction projects due to its density, and a stricter regulatory environment could negatively impact the risk/reward profile for insurers of construction projects involving cranes, according to Allen Wolff, shareholder at Anderson Kill.
“It’s a big question mark right now, and a lot of people in the industry are legitimately concerned they may face this increased expense but see no significant decrease in accidents,” he said. “At that point, regulations are burdensome and impose additional cost with no real reward. New York has always been a place where insurance is expensive and difficult to obtain, and there are some insurance companies that are probably disinclined to take that risk in this environment, whereas they might be more inclined to take that risk in a different environment.”
To read the full story:Insurance Industry Sees Challenges with New York City Crawler Crane Requirements