Complexities of Builder's Risk Insurance Claims: Navigating Defective Workmanship, Accidents, External Causes, Express Exclusions, and More
Evaluation of Policies Based on Pricing Considerations, Location, Environmental Factors, Type of Construction

Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Real Property - Transactions
- event Date
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
-
This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE webinar will address the complexities of BRI coverage, including who should hold the policy, who should be responsible for both notice and adjustment of a claim, preferred exclusions and exceptions thereto, and coverage for property damage versus soft costs/business interruption.
Faculty

Mr. Bobotek guides clients through all phases of development and construction of commercial properties, including preparation, review and negotiation of development, design, construction, design-build, and related agreements. He also counsels clients in analyzing insurance coverage claims, formulating risk management strategies, and developing contractual insurance requirements. Mr. Bobotek has secured many favorable outcomes for commercial policyholders on CGL, builder’s risk, commercial property, business interruption, E&O, cyber, professional liability, D&O, pollution, fidelity and other claims.

Mr. Stockwell is an experienced counselor and litigator and has handled high-profile insurance coverage and construction disputes. He represents construction companies, owners and developers in all aspects of contract negotiations, payment disputes and litigation. Mr. Stockwell focuses on avoiding potential conflict early, through procurement of insurance policies and in the contract stage, but has also assisted clients in recovering more than $250 million in litigation and arbitration.
Description
Construction projects are subject to accidents and catastrophic events that are typically costly and complicated and often result in extended battles over builder's risk insurance (BRI) coverage. It is crucial to determine whether there is builder's risk coverage for such accidents and events.
Many legal issues impact BRI recovery for construction accidents and events, in part due to the lack of use of a standard form BRI policy. Coverage is, therefore, sometimes dependent on subtle distinctions in BRI policy terms and language. This language needs to be reviewed and negotiated before shovels hit the ground.
Entities involved in construction projects, including owners, contractors, and insurance companies must understand critical issues such as defective workmanship, accidents, and external causes, the applicability of exclusions such as those for defective workmanship, exceptions to those exclusions, business interruption or soft costs coverage, as well as "other insurance" and priority of coverage arguments.
Listen as our authoritative panel of construction attorneys analyzes how to determine proper insurance coverage for construction accidents and what language considerations to include for specific provisions. The panel will discuss critical issues that impact potential recovery, including defective workmanship, accidents and external causes, express exclusions for defective workmanship, and the inherent vice and latent defect exclusion.
Outline
- Ownership of policy
- Amount of coverage
- Property damage
- Delay claims
- Lost gross profits, loss of income, continuing expenses
- Physical damage or loss vs. mere defective workmanship
- Accidents and external causes
- Express exclusions for defective workmanship
- Inherent vice and latent defect exclusion
Benefits
The panel will review these and other crucial issues:
- BRI policy structure and preferred coverages.
- Key exclusions, exceptions, and policy conditions.
- Interplay between BRI and commercial general liability coverages.
- Factors courts look at in determining whether a construction defect has caused physical damage or loss triggering BRI coverage
- How BRI policies treat ensuing lost gross profits, loss of income, and continuing expenses
- How claims by multiple insureds arising out of the same event or occurrence are treated
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