Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Insurance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Carson Reclamation Authority approves insurance for Leonardo Street construction
Summary
The Carson Reclamation Authority on March 3 approved three road-specific insurance policies to cover construction of Leonardo Street, authorizing the executive director to bind policies and pay premiums. Board members were told the approach saves the authority money compared with contractors buying policies directly.
The Carson Reclamation Authority voted unanimously March 3 at Carson City Hall to purchase three road-specific insurance policies to cover construction of Leonardo Street and authorized the executive director to bind the policies and pay the premiums.
The action approves (1) a road-specific owner’s interest commercial general liability policy with Crum & Forster Specialty Insurance Company, premium not to exceed $58,233; (2) a road-specific owner’s interest excess liability policy with Crum & Forster Specialty Insurance Company, premium not to exceed $49,497.51; and (3) a road-specific commercial general liability policy to be bound on behalf of the development and environmental manager, RE Solutions LLC, with Versys Specialty Insurance (a unit of Barclay Assurance Company), premium not to exceed $788,000. The motion was moved and seconded and passed unanimously, with one nonvoting treasurer recorded as recused for the record.
Why it matters: Authority staff said buying standalone owner-specific policies for the road and arranging for RE Solutions LLC to bind the third policy will cost the authority less overall than having the development manager or contractors purchase their own coverage and bill the CRA. A CRA staff member told the board that direct market quotes obtained by the development manager were significantly higher and that the chosen approach “ends up saving us probably a couple hundred thousand dollars doing it this way.”
During the discussion, staff described the three policies as distinct: two policies would be issued directly to the CRA through the authority’s broker, and the third would be bound for RE Solutions LLC and reimbursed by the CRA. The staff explanation said the third-policy quotes obtained directly by the development manager were higher than the quotes the authority secured through its broker, Marsh, which led to the decision to have the CRA bind and pay that premium.
Board members also received an update on project timing. Staff said contract amendments to the RE Solutions agreement and the Snyder Langston construction contract were being finalized and could be executed that week; Snyder Langston indicated it would mobilize within a couple of weeks in March if contracts were executed. Mary Hashim, who identified herself as one of the owners and principals of RE Solutions LLC, told the board: “We are just so excited to be moving forward on getting the road constructed.”
The board’s motion included authorization for the executive director to bind the CRA’s policies and to pay premiums for all three policies. Board members asked for the arrangements to be reflected in the minutes and for the finance department to have the necessary board approval documentation to process the third-party payment.
The meeting also approved consent calendar items 2 and 3 earlier in the session; item 4 (the Leonardo Street insurance items) was pulled, discussed, and approved separately.
Board members and staff emphasized that the insurance purchases are preparatory steps required before large-scale construction can begin; the board did not approve construction work itself during this meeting. The staff update and subsequent approvals indicate the project is moving toward contractor mobilization if the outstanding contract documents are executed.
