"Any construction project of this magnitude is a challenge," said Dan Conway, President of Construction Risk Management and Surety for Chartis, at the Rebuilding Through Unity event at the World Trade Center (WTC) site in September. "But the sensitivity of this site, the perception that it may be a target for terrorist attacks during construction, the media attention surrounding various components of the project and the various distractions that have come about during construction make this an extraordinary one."

With its underwriting capacity and loss prevention expertise, Chartis is uniquely capable of providing coverage to protect the people, property and environment in and around the construction site. Scheduled to be completed by the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, the WTC will include a Freedom Tower-the tallest in the U.S.-as well as several other towers, two reflecting pools and a memorial to those who lost their lives.

Given that some 4,000 people touch the site every day-working simultaneously to build what Port Authority's Steve Plate calls "a city within a city"-safety is paramount and collaboration is key.

"The reconstruction of the site is both massive and historic, and we cannot have accomplished what we have so far without the collaboration and support of all the stakeholders in the project," says Louis Iglesias, Chairman and CEO, Commercial Casualty, Chartis U.S.,

The Rebuilding for Unity event further solidified the partnership among those stakeholders, including Silverstein Properties, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Ironworkers International. Recognizing that this project sets the highest standards and best practices possible to ensure the safety and security of workers, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is also actively involved.

Before the event, a site tour was conducted for special guests including Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor, OSHA, Joseph Hunt, General President, Iron Workers International and Eric Waterman, CEO, IMPACT. Dr. Michaels counts the Freedom Tower among "the special places that inspire reverence" and called it "a towering monument to safety."

"I am very proud of the many Ironworkers who first built the World Trade Center in 1960's, the heroic Ironworkers who worked tirelessly on September 11, 2001 to rescue innocent Americans and remove mountains of twisted steel during the clean-up efforts, and the dedicated Ironworkers who are working now to rebuild this historic project. In view of the series of catastrophic construction accidents that claimed the lives of workers on projects here in New York and throughout the country, I challenge all of us in the spirit of "Rebuilding Through Unity", that we can do better," commented President Hunt.