Volume 42, March 2011 — RETURN TO IMP CYBERCAST CURRENT EDITION Click Here for Print Friendly Version  
   
 
 
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INSURANCE MARKETPLACE SOLUTIONS
 
 

CRANE OPERATORS

Spring is coming! Soon flowers will be popping up, and they will be quickly followed by orange barrels on roads and at construction sites. Those orange barrels will then be quickly followed by mobile and tower cranes.

Cranes are present at nearly every bridge and road project. They spring up in downtown areas where older buildings must be demolished to make way for new ones that take their place. They also appear in suburban areas across the country where increasingly tall buildings are the order of the day in office parks.

Cranes are part of our landscape—but who operates them and who insures them?

 
GROWTH POTENTIAL
 

Crane rental with operators is included within the broader classification of heavy construction equipment rental with operators. While some rental firms specialize in cranes, many offer a broad range of equipment. According to this information, there are almost 11,000 operators who pay annual premiums in excess of $31 million. The severity of the liability exposure is evidenced by the fact that liability is the largest premium category.

For more information:
MarketStance
website: www.marketstance.com
Email: info@marketstance.com

 
 
STATING THE OBVIOUS
 
   

 

Cranes should never be operated by anyone who is not properly trained and certified. Cranes can and do cause serious damage and injury. An incorrect maneuver can propel a steel girder through a building, crush a car, or injure a pedestrian. The heavy loads lifted can suddenly tip, fall, and destroy anything they land on as well as destroying the load itself.

 
   
THE HEART OF THE MATTER
 
   
 

Here is a possible loss scenario:

Felding and Company is a general contractor remodeling a downtown five-story office building. It contracts with Grace LLC, a crane operator, to position new air conditioning units on the roof. The units are rigged properly and hoisted but unexpectedly begin to sway at the 3rd story. The operator overcorrects and the sway increases. The sway becomes so extreme that the crane overturns, and the load crashes through the roof of the adjoining building. Fortunately, no one is injured.

The owner of the damaged building sues Grace and Felding for the damage to the building and loss of use. Grace is also expected to pay for the damage to the air conditioning units it was lifting and their owner's claim for loss of use. Grace must also pay to repair its own crane.

 
   
THE MARKETPLACE RESPONDS
 
   

The two types of cranes are mobile cranes and tower cranes.

Some mobile cranes are mounted on trucks while others operate on crawler treads. Some cranes are designed to work in rough terrain and the truck chassis must be specially designed for this purpose. Most cranes are transported to the jobsite by motor vehicles. Once there, they may travel short distances on roads on the project site, but not usually very far.

Tower cranes are transported to the building site in sections. The tower is constructed on the site and the boom is attached on top of the tower. The tower is jacked up as needed to meet the height requirements and needs of the construction project. The boom is not stationary. It moves based on the counterweight relative to the items being lifted. The boom must be properly attached to the tower or it may fail, separate, and collapse.

Mobile cranes are workhorses that can be used in various construction settings. Tower cranes are more specialized and are used almost exclusively in urban areas with high-rise building construction.

Cranes are expensive pieces of equipment that are used for specific purposes. Crane operators are specialists who command high salaries and who must be properly trained and certified. For these reasons, many contractors prefer to rent a crane and its operator from a crane rental operation on an as- needed basis.

Click here for the complete article … 

 
   
WHO WRITES CRANE OPERATORS?
 
   

MANAGING GENERAL AGENTS | WHOLESALE BROKERS | INSURANCE COMPANIES

 
 
 
 

This message was sent by The Rough Notes Company, Inc.,
11690 Technology Drive, Carmel, Indiana, 46032
1-800-428-4384