Walsh Construction Co. is a Pacific Northwest general contractor with offices in Portland, Seattle, and Sacramento. As with many contractors, they have been faced with challenges related to moisture problems in buildings and the impact this can have on their insurance. Insurers are becoming more discriminating regarding classes of business that represent high risk to them.

Walsh faced this insurance challenge proactively on several fronts. Firstly, they took steps to ensure that the buildings that they built presented a very low risk of premature failure. They ask tough questions of the design team. Secondly, they refuse to get involved in projects where their risk assessment scorecard suggests that risks of performance problems are high. Finally, they developed an internal communication plan that emphasized the need for quality and directly involved their insurer in their risk reduction strategy.

Walsh is now recognized for their leadership in addressing building enclosure performance problems pro-actively and for quality construction in general. They have been able to clearly demonstrate that their businesses are “better risks” than the rest of the industry.