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ABOUT THE CLAIM
Recently, Guardian Group, Inc.’s Surety Group was asked to consult on a claim on behalf of one of the industry’s largest and most respected sureties. Two concrete projects undertaken by a skilled contractor and located in neighboring Southwest states necessitated Guardian’s involvement. The surety’s contractor-principal was experiencing cash flow problems. In order to mitigate its losses on two impacted projects, the surety had elected to finance the principal through completion.
ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION
One project was for a prison’s interior walls and involved the application of a special concrete coating. The other project was the installation of concrete foundations, sidewalks, curbs, and gutter painting for a large commercial building. Having utilized Guardian’s services on prior claims specifically wherein the surety financing option was exercised, the surety knew the strategic combination of surety plus Guardian would best protect its bottom line.
ABOUT THE RESOLUTION
As for the prison project, Guardian located, vetted, and hired a specially trained project manager who, in turn, could train the workers to apply the coating correctly and could accomplish the work without impacting the overall project schedule. Guardian’s seasoned surety claim experts completed the concrete project within the revised completion date and helped the surety avoid the assessment of liquidated damages. The loss was limited to payment bond claims and there was no performance bond loss. On the commercial building, Guardian replaced the project manager, who had proven himself incapable of managing a project of such scope. Additionally, Guardian’s Surety Group identified numerous areas of extra work for which the principal was entitled to extra compensation, and that forced project delays which impacted the schedule. Courtesy of Guardian’s experts’ efforts tracking project delays, monitoring the required extra work, and the cost of remedial work caused by both other trades and the General Contractor, a significant claim was able to be made against the General Contractor. Guardian provided expert testimony and assisted the surety’s counsel in obtaining a substantial recovery of its loss.