OCIP gives City of Spruce Grove peace of mind

Dan Howarth, Insurance & Risk Management Advisor for the City of Spruce Grove would like AUMA members to remember one thing about AMSC’s Owner Controlled Insurance Program (OCIP):

“Depending on the nature of the project, OCIP can bring substantial insurance savings.”

Dan recently chatted with us about his experience of AMSC’s insurance services. He explained that AMSC’s OCIP gave the City of Spruce Grove a greater sense of security during their recent fire hall expansion project.

OCIP is insurance coverage for owners of a construction project. Contractors’ insurance for a project will not protect the project owner’s financial interests if something were to happen. OCIP effectively puts you in control of the project’s insurance.

“The City is able to have better coverage and have our interests protected. Any claim is payable to the City and not necessarily to the prime contractor. There’s more control that the city has to protect its financial interests in the project, which I think is very desirable,” he said.

Dan arranged OCIP coverage for the City of Spruce Grove through AMSC. He got great coverage at a very competitive rate. “The broker for the prime contractor said their rates were slightly higher. But AMSC was somehow able to get it at a cheaper premium,” he said.

Dan’s experience in the insurance industry provides him with good insight into how the right coverage can help everyone. Dan said he feels OCIP helps the construction contractor, too.

“I think there is peace of mind because it protects the [contractors’] book of business from risk exposure. If we have an OCIP policy on a project and something were to happen, it may not have an impact on their blanket liability insurance for all their projects.”

The contractor is supporting the City to arrange OCIP on its next construction project.

If you would like more information about OCIP for your municipality’s construction projects, please contact clientdevelopment [at] auma.ca (clientdevelopment[at]auma[dot]ca) or call 310.AUMA(2869).