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ABOUT THE CLAIM
A prominent surety reached out with an unfortunate situation on its hands. Their principal had fallen way behind on a bonded project: the complete upgrade and installation of a school-wide fire suppression system. The surety’s claims department sensed an imminent termination by the obligee and subsequent bankruptcy declaration by their principal.
ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION
Upon immediately deploying to the school, the Guardian/YA forensic experts witnessed a incomplete job. The principal had likely underbid the project. . Adding insult to injury, the contractor had already invoiced and been paid for most of the project. Only about $100,000 remained on the $2MM contract yet successful project completion was far off in the distance. Clearly, this had been a project that turned out to be out of the contractor’s technical and managerial depth. Fire suppression requires not only a knowledge of the equipment but specialized installation experience that simultaneously draws upon mechanical, electrical and plumbing expertise.
ABOUT THE RESOLUTION
The Guardian & YA experts acted quickly to minimize the surety’s losses and exposures. Since no contractor would warrant the existing work other than the equipment manufacturer, it was recommended, and accepted by the surety, that the best, most cost-effective path forward would be for Guardian/YA to take over the project and re-let it to a previously known and vetted specialty contractor. One additional challenge of the project was that whereas the original work had taken place during summer break, all re-work and new work had to be completed at night due to the school’s day-time purpose. But with the Guardian/YA team’s specialized project management and oversight experience on the project, prior lost time was recaptured and the project was ultimately completed to the obligee’s satisfaction. Upon testing and certification of the system by the school district’s fire department, the obligee expressed appreciation to the surety and, in turn, the surety was grateful for the diligence displayed.
ABOUT GUARDIAN & YA GROUP
Surety companies rely on the unique combination of technical engineering expertise and claims investigation savvy that can only be found at today’s YA Group. With last year’s acquisition of Guardian Group, YA offers clients the most complete suite of surety support services available anywhere. 700+ experts across the U.S., as well as in Mexico and England, stand ready to help you investigate and resolve claims effectively and efficiently. For your everyday contract and commercial claims, for a high volume of claims, and on up to surety claims involving some of the largest, most problem-fraught construction projects in the world, call upon unmatched experience, proven professionalism, and integrity. Call on the surety experts at YA Group today.