Contractors, equipment suppliers and operators entering the Utica Shale play have ample economic opportunities awaiting them. But they also need to prepare their businesses for the rigorous safety demands within the industry, including protection from the liability risks they face as they pre-qualify to work under a Master Services Agreement (MSA) and operate on job sites.
This topic was at the center of a panel discussion held September 6 at the YOUNG2012 regional expo at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, OH.
Keystone Insurers Group representative Jim Klingensmith of L. Calvin Jones Insurance Agency (Canfield, OH) led the discussion, titled “Risk Management Practices and Coverage: A 101 for Shale Players” to review real-life scenarios with clients working under an MSA, and how a combined insurance and risk management product through Keystone Shale Solutions can mitigate some of these challenges.
The panel also included Becky Wall of Dearing Compressor and Pump Company, Darin Ernst of East Coast Risk Management, Darlyn McDermott of Keystone Insurers Group, and Paul Battista of Sunny Side Supply.
The panel focused on how MSA compliance mandates risk management decisions as businesses invest in the industry. Becky Wall said Dearing Compressor and Pump Company has grown 6 times in the last 2 years, and for this growth to happen, she had to make the financial decision to become ISNetworld® certified and approved to compete for business. Paul Battista of Sunny Side Supply faced the same decision but decided to refocus his business in a manner that instead supplied businesses that were ISNetworld® certified.
“Keystone Shale Solutions is a collaborative effort to satisfy a sorely missing need in natural gas exploration, not just in the Utica Shale but the Marcellus as well,” said Darlyn McDermott. “When it comes to insurance coverage and claims litigation, companies need to sit down with an insurance broker that understands the legal and compliance issues of doing business on drilling sites.”
McDermott also emphasized the geographic benefit as Keystone Insurers Group, East Coast Risk Management, and Keystone Insurers Group independent insurance agency partners are located directly within the OH and PA shale plays.
“For businesses located in the Marcellus and Utica Shale plays but looking to expand beyond their communities or to engage in interstate growth,” McDermott explained, “[our] partners are geographically situated and attuned to local and state issues facing the shale industry as well as global energy exploration issues. Keystone Shale Solutions locally molds together risk management, claims expertise, and program insurance into one convenient solution.”
Keystone Insurers Group local partner, James and Sons (Youngstown OH), was represented as well at the expo.
Representatives from the Keystone Shale Solutions effort will be part of a panel for an event hosted by the Richland Community Development Group in Mansfield OH on September 26 at the Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center.
Keystone Insurers Group was founded in 1983 in Central Pennsylvania and has expanded over the years to become the fifth largest privately owned insurance agency in theUnited States. A federally-licensed franchisor of independent agencies, Keystone has over 230 locally owned and operated Independent Agency partners in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. Keystone Insurers Group is an association member of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association (OOGA) and Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association (PIOGA).
Keystone Shale Solutions is a complete insurance and risk management solution for natural gas drilling energy contractors and operators. Keystone Insurers Group, in partnership with it Specialty Programs division, risk management partner East Coast Risk Management, and network of local Keystone partners, formalized the solution to identify gaps in insurance coverages, provide safety training, review MSA and ISNetworld® compliance for contractor pre-qualification, manage claims, and more.
For more information about Keystone Shale Solutions, visit www.keystoneinsgrp.com/kss.