The 5 Tenets for SDI and Mitigating Risk Across Jobsites with Jason Lamonica
The Building BITE Podcast
Season 1, Episode 5
Jun 7, 2021
Featuring Jason Lamonica, Senior Vice President, Head of Construction at Vantage Risk
Special Guest
Jason Lamonica
Senior Vice President, Head of Construction at Vantage Risk
Peter begins the conversation with a review of Jason's background and what lead him into the position where he is today. Jason then shares his perspective on the current state of the market from experiences he's had. Jason paints the 2001 recession and stock market picture and compares it to the recession in 2008 with the cataclysmic credit disaster. Peter and Jason chat about the recoveries of recessions and what commonalities are noticed with every rebound.
Join us for The Building BITE Podcast— a podcast for construction owners, insurance professionals, and contractors. Hear from experts about key topics to help you be successful. Guest Jason Lamonica joins hosts Peter Duggan, President and CEO of Proactive, and Proactive's Senior Consultant Mike Diercksen in today's episode. Together, these three will jump into the key focuses for SDI and mitigating risk across various job sites.
Moving the conversation to the current market, Peter asks what Jason thinks we can expect to see this year. With such a wide margin of predictions, Jason says there is no definite answer—the economy could dramatically boost or plummet again. Furthermore, they discuss the changes in the way we write SDI and the biggest concern that keeps Jason up at night—are we done with this recession?
The majority of today's episode focuses on the following 5 key tenets for contractors to look out for in any market.
- Project pursuit. Jason encourages contractors to set themselves up with most familiar projects and know the details before taking a job. He says it is hard to make a good job out of a bad project pursuit.
- Picking quality partners. Find out why it is hard to squeeze your margin when you need good partners, and learn why cash is key. He talks about "pre-quals" in subcontracts and the need to have ongoing rights to check partners' financial health.
- Quality. Don't forget to check in on the work being completed by subcontractors. Jason shares that the most costly form of default is when sub builds something wrong and you have to pay to do it twice.
- Schedule. The hardest thing to quantify is a delay. Update schedules quickly and accurately to ensure proper payment and foresee any issues with your subs.
- Contractual work. Know your contract, what you are responsible for, and what you'll receive forgiveness for. They discuss the effects of the pandemic in this area.
Jason emphasizes that if you start with a good decision, it is easier to follow up with another right one and ultimately mitigate potential issues. Peter inquires about timing the market and Jason says that the key is not to time the market but rather to reevaluate and make adjustments as the market continually changes. What gets Jason the most energized and passionate about his work? He loves meeting with his customers!
Jason leaves the listeners with a couple takeaways and an action item.
- Select a good job as your first decision.
- Have continuous quality and check-ins to ensure subs' ability to continue to perform.
- With contractual building, know what you're getting yourself into. Everyone should know what they are responsible for and what risks they are taking on.
- Hope for the best and plan for the worst. Have the ability to weather the storm.
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Links:
Find out more about AXA AL
Follow Proactive on LinkedIn
Connect with Peter Duggan
Connect with Mike Diercksen