Insurance Panel Chairman Proposes pilot Liability Program for small Contractors

The chairman of the New York Assembly Insurance Committee is proposing an unusual new program to provide general and excess liability insurance for small construction companies as a cushion against rising premiums blamed on the state's 130-year-old scaffold law. On March 26, Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston, filed Assembly 6531 to create the New York Small Contractor Safety Group. The bill would launch a five-year pilot project and a state fund to provide general and excess liability insurance to construction companies that either qualify as minority women-owned businesses or...