In this episode of Crane Talk, Isaac Smith is joined by Ron Thompson and Jean Greiner to break down what Ron heard during his trip to Capitol Hill with trucking and crane industry representatives. The conversation covers the real business pressure facing crane, rigging, and trucking companies, from rising insurance costs to the growing impact of litigation on family-owned operations.

The hosts dig into several major issues affecting the industry: third-party litigation funding, staged accidents, forum shopping, nuclear verdicts, and the challenge of getting meaningful tort reform passed. Ron also shares examples from his meetings in Washington, including discussions around federal penalties for staged highway accidents and the need for more transparency in litigation funding.

The episode also touches on tariffs affecting crane equipment from Japan and the EU, why those costs are difficult to absorb mid-project, and how they could affect infrastructure work, data centers, and equipment purchasing decisions.

About the Show

Crane talk is a podcast hosted by Ron Thompson and Gene Greiner, 2 highly successful insurance producers in the Dallas-Fort Worth region.

About Ron:

Ron has been specializing in the heavy iron insurance world as a broker since 1992. In the complex world of heavy iron risk exposure, Ron’s expertise is in contractual risk transfer, contract review, fleet safety management where “rubber meets the road” and keeping clients updated on legislative issues that effect the crane & rigging industry and maximizing profit for his clientele.

About Gene:

Gene Greiner is Vice President of commercial insurance for CoVerica with 15 years of focus on heavy construction risk. Based in Dallas, TX, he is deeply embedded in serving this industry’s risk transfer needs and, enjoys active advocacy though the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association and the Texas Crane Owners Association.

New episodes drop the first Tuesday of each month. Please drop us a line if you have a question or suggestion; you can reach us at podcast@coverica.com. Finally, if you like the podcast, we encourage you to subscribe and leave us a review.