Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance enters construction contract surety market

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Group, the Boston-based commercial insurance arm of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., on Thursday said it has added contract surety to its portfolio of specialty insurance products designed for construction companies.

Geoff Delisio has been named senior vice president of its newly created surety business, the company said in a statement.

“With Geoff on board, we will be building a multidisciplinary team of surety underwriting, claims and legal professionals to serve the needs of our construction customers and brokers for the long term,” David Bresnahan, executive vice president of Boston-based Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, said in the statement.

Mr. Delisio will be based in Boston and report directly to Mr. Bresnahan, according to the statement. Previously, he served as senior vice president of surety at Zurich North America. In addition to his 13 years of experience in contract surety, Mr. Delisio has more than decade of experience in geotechnical and civil engineering.

The launch of BHSI's contract surety business adds to its suite of construction-oriented specialty insurance products, the company said in the statement.

Previous product launches include a builders' risk program and a consolidated contractors' general liability program.