Each year, the Associated General Contractors of America hosts a three–day meeting on surety bonding and construction risk management. The meeting provides a unique opportunity for the in–house risk managers for the nation's leading construction contractors to engage their counterparts in the surety and insurance industries in candid discussion of recent trends, potential friction, and better ways for all three industries to support each other.

AGC hosted this year's meeting in Longboat Key, Florida, on February 6–8, 2008. Below are several of the major items that were on the meeting agenda, and links to the presentations and handouts related to each one. All AGC members are welcome to download copies for their information and future reference.

Please note that AGC will hold next year's meeting on surety bonding and construction risk management in Naples, Florida, on February 10–12, 2009!

AGC's Economic Forecast for the Coming Year

• Presenter: Ken Simonson, Chief Economist, AGC of America
• Presentation: "Will Construction Abate or be Great in 2008?"

Reinsurance Market Conditions for Both Surety Bonding and Insurance

• Presenter: Laura Shanahan, Endurance Reinsurance
• Presentation: "What's the Buzz?"

Surety and General Liability Losses and What they Portend for the Future

• Presenter: William McConnell, Vertex Construction Services, Inc.
• Presentation: "Reading the Tea Leaves: Surety & General Liability Losses and What They Portend for the Future"

How ConsensusDocs and AIA's New A201 address the Contractual Issues of Greatest Interest to Construction Risk Managers

• Presenters: Kevin Peartree, Ernstrom & Dreste, and James O'Connor, the Maslon Firm
• Presentation: "The New Kids on the Block: How ConsensusDOCS and the 2007 AIA A201 Address Key Contractual Issues"
• Handout: "Risk Issues in ConsensusDOCS and AIA A201"

The Latest Trends in Quality Assurance and Quality Control

• Presenter: Don Neff, La Jolla Pacific, Inc.
• Presentation: "Helping Those Who Help Themselves: Latest Trends in Quality Assurance and Quality Control"

The Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the McNulty Memo, the Federal Acquisition Regulation and Other Reasons for Implementing an Ethics and Compliance Program

• Presenter: Joseph Murphy, Compliance Systems Legal Group
• Presentation: "The How and Why of Compliance Programs"

The Morse Diesel Case and What It Does and Does Not Say about the Insurance and Bond Premiums Included in the Cost of Performing Public Work

• Presenters: Robert Chambers and Steven Reed, Smith Currie & Hancock
• Presentation: "The $50 Million Question"
• Handout: "Morse Diesel International v. United States: Implications and Lessons"

The Hidden Risks of Undertaking "Green" Construction

• Presenter: Thomas Taylor, Vertegy
• Presentation: "The Risk of Sustainability"

An Overview of the Legal and Contractual Challenges of Building Information Modeling

• Presenter: Dwight Larson, Mortenson Construction
• Presentation: "Entering the Brave New World, Contracting for BIM"
• Handout: "Entering the Brave New World, Contracting for BIM"