Technical Expertise and
Practical Experience:
COP was
founded by law-trained veterans of the construction contracting business
who recognized that proper representation of sureties required not only
technical mastery of the legal context but also a practical
understanding of life on the job site. As COP has grown over the years,
this commitment to professional expertise combined with construction
experience has remained constant. COP staff now includes professional
engineers with project management capability and CPA's with construction
audit backgrounds.
Rapid Response:
COP has historically specialized in
construction surety claims of smaller contractors with annual programs
below $10 million. In this arena, COP operates with a distinctly
aggressive style, responding as promptly as possible to performance and
payment "rumbles". COP's philosophy has always been that rapid response
minimizes loss. When a project is in the early stages of trouble,
accommodations are more easily negotiated than after a project has lost
its momentum and the parties have become hostile. Always mindful of the
principal's rights, COP nevertheless presses for the quickest resolution
of problems by focusing close and constant attention on the "action
steps" required of each and every party to the controversy to assure
steady progress toward a timely, fair, and economical result.
State-of-the-Art Systems:
To support these efforts, COP has developed a sophisticated proprietary
system for tracking complex situations with multiple claims and
performance issues on multiple projects. In addition to automating
project accounting and the generation of many standard notices (e.g., to
secure contract proceeds, to involve indemnitors, and to conform with
legal requirements), this system facilitates prompt and detailed
reporting to carriers and their reinsurers.
