In addition to offering a wide range of insurance products and bonding for Southern California, Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services' Los Angeles office administers the Los Angeles Regional Contractor Development and Bonding Program, which serves the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Los Angeles County. MWIS also administers similar programs in Fresno, California and Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Program began in 2005, when recognizing the importance of encouraging the economic stability and potential of small contractors within Los Angeles' diverse and vibrant community, the City of Los Angeles teamed up with Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services to create the Bond Assistance Program (BAPLA), now known as the Contractor Development and Bonding Program (CDABP). The CDABP helps expand opportunities for small, diverse, women and veteran contractors to participate in City projects and assists them in growing their business capacity. By eliminating bonding and now contract financing barriers, the City has increased the pool of qualified contractors able to bid and participate on City projects, resulting in a greater number of competitive bids and generating significant cost savings to the City. Participating city departments include the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Los Angeles Department of Public Works, the Port of Los Angeles and Los Angeles World Airports.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) serves more than 9.6 million commuters within a 1,433 square mile service area and represents one of the largest economic development engines in the region. Successfully planning, designing, building and operating this immense transportation system requires a vast labor force – from forward-thinking employees to experienced contractors – in a wide range of fields. Metro has become a leader in contracting initiatives, policies and practices that nurture the inclusion, participation, growth and long-term capacity-building of small and diverse businesses. The Los Angeles Regional Contractor Development and Bonding Program helps local small and diverse contractors meet the requirements to bid and participate on Metro projects.
Similarly, as the most populous county in the United States, with over 10 million people and more than 80 incorporated cities, Los Angeles County offers a wide and diverse range of contracting opportunities, much of which (including road maintenance, water and sewer projects, general construction for renovation and repair, as well as larger capital projects) is conducive to the inclusion of smaller contractors. However, when a county survey found that a significant number of local businesses were unaware of County contracting opportunities and faced a knowledge gap and other barriers prohibiting them from bidding on County work, the County connected with MWIS to join as a sponsor of the Los Angeles Regional Contractor Development and Bonding Program (CDABP). Administered by MWIS, the CDABP helps to address the challenges facing interested firms by providing information and technical support to help them become successful contractors on County projects.
By planning small business inclusion into their long-term maintenance and development strategies, each of these public agencies has been able to leverage the support and resources provided by the Los Angeles Regional Contractor Development and Bonding program to efficiently increase their pool of qualified contractors while nurturing the success of small, local business and the sustainable growth of the regional economy. Program services are sponsored by the public agencies and are provided at no charge to participating contractors.
Contractor Development and Bonding Program Services include:
- Personalized business assessments to determine a contractor’s current capacity and opportunities for growth.
- Workshops, training, individual and contract-specific support for securing bonding, financing, learning industry best practices and overall business development.
- A cost subsidy for contractors to get the help of a professional accountant in preparing necessary financial statements.
- Bid, performance, and payment bond guarantees to surety companies
- Assistance with Third Party Fund Administrators to ensure that project-related expenses are paid in a timely manner.
- Participation in the Prime Partnership Program, which helps create strategic alliances with Program Prime contractors, peers and public agency staff through networking, matchmaking and referrals.
Merriwether & Wiliams has served as insurance broker to the public and private sector for more than 27 years, inclusive of all major coverage areas. From community based non-profit organizations, affordable and market rate housing developers, to public entities, the firm has assisted clients in navigating through asset acquisitions, organizational change and construction development to ensure they are properly protected and enabled to grow and evolve without limitation based on risk. We help a lot of small businesses meet public entity insurance requirements, and also specialize in insurance for special events of all sizes and complexities. In all our areas of discipline Merriwether & Williams utilizes an aligned risk management approach to viewing and treating risk with a perspective beyond just purchasing insurance. We know that insurance is a tool, risk management a need -- and we address these in service of achieving our clients' goals, objectives and purpose.
Services Offered:
- Contractor Development and Bonding Programs
- Contractor Financing Assistance Programs
- Contract Surety
- Commercial Surety, Property & Casualty, General Liability, Auto Liability, Umbrella Liability/Excess Liability, Crime
- Property/Builders Risk/Inland Marine
- Professional Liability, Directors and Officers Liability
- Cyber Liability
- Worker's Compensation
- Business Owners Policy
- Owners Controlled Insurance Program
- Safety & Loss Control Services
- Aligned Risk Management Consulting
- SPARTA & SELIP (Special Events)
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