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ON THE MOVE WILSON & COMPANY APPOINTS ANDY LEIFHEIT AS COO Wilson & Company, Inc. Engineers & Architects, a national leader in engineering and architecture with award-winning multidisciplinary projects, announced the appointment and promotion of Andy Leifheit as the company’s chief operating officer. Continuing to serve on the executive leadership team and working closely with the board of directors, Leifheit will oversee Wilson & Company’s operations, contribute to implementing the firm’s growth vision, promote its purpose and culture of Higher Relationships, and ensure the company continues to deliver excellent service to clients and communities. Leifheit’s leadership will play a pivotal role in navigating Wilson & Company’s path toward its ambitious growth objectives. His vision, experience, and dedication to the company’s mission will
be instrumental in positioning the firm for sustained success and growth far beyond the initial $250 million milestone. “We are confident that Andy’s leadership and vision will help Wilson & Company thrive in this next phase of our transformation,” said Jim Brady, PE, president and CEO of Wilson & Company. “His ability to promote our culture of collaboration and dedication to excellence will be critical as we work toward achieving our long-term goals.” Leifheit has been with Wilson & Company since 2007 and has more than 27 years of experience in the engineering and architecture industry and has demonstrated a strong ability to drive organizational growth. Leifheit has held several leadership roles at Wilson & Company. In 2018, he took on the role of rail division manager, overseeing the rail services market and UIC/Field Services
Program, before stepping into his most recent position as senior vice president of Private Infrastructure following year one of Wilson & Company’s organizational restructuring. “A strong commitment to our people and culture drives Wilson & Company’s growth and success. I’m honored to step into the role of COO and excited to continue working alongside an exceptional leadership team. Together, we will continue our mission to deliver innovative solutions to our clients while fostering collaboration, operational excellence, and a culture defined by Higher Relationships,” said Leifheit. Wilson & Company has brought more than 700 people together in 15 offices over nine states to build Higher Relationships through discipline, intensity, collaboration, shared ownership, and solutions.
presented by AI, they need to be vigilant in their assessment of related issues, such as algorithmic errors or unintended design flaws, and implement robust safeguards and quality control measures. 8. State-specific claim trends and risks raise concerns. Some insurers surveyed pointed to what they consider bothersome trends in certain states with a few concerned about Florida, Texas, Colorado, Pennsylvania, New York, and Washington for having adverse loss experience. Others singled out California for elevated risk due to climate and topography changes. 9. Claim complexity and costs, evolving risk landscape, competition, and sustainable pricing among top insurer concerns. While claim complexity and severity continue to be key concerns of insurers, some insurers also had concerns about the combined impact of a potential recession, higher construction costs, and rising claim levels on their books of business along with the challenges associated with balancing competitive pricing of their professional liability coverage against heightened risks. 10. Growing worries over rising climate exposures. The climate-related disasters in 2024 and 2025 have elevated concerns among insurers about whether architecture and engineering firms can adapt to evolving weather conditions in anticipation of potential adjustments to building codes and standards. To obtain a complimentary copy of the Ames & Gough Survey, PLI Market 2025: A/E Firms See More Growth Amid Heightened Risks and Rising Costs , email info@amesgough.com. Jared Maxwell is vice president and partner at Ames & Gough. He can be reached at jmaxwell@amesgough.com.
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4. Despite stable capacity obtaining higher professional liability coverage limits comes with added scrutiny. Although some insurers now appear willing to offer more capacity, including limits of $20 million and above, they typically apply greater underwriting scrutiny to these requests. Thus, design firms might try negotiating with owners on whether higher limits are necessary; if so, they might explore alternative structures, such as specific additional limits endorsements/project excess or layered programs. 5. Most insurers target architecture and engineering firms with poor loss experience for rate increases. Two-thirds of the insurers surveyed plan to target rate increases on accounts with adverse loss experience; one in three plan rate increases across their entire books, reflecting widening insurer concerns over rate adequacy over the long term. 6. Insurers wary over heightened design firm M&A activity. Insurers are watching the rise in mergers and acquisitions among design firms – especially deals involving private equity firms, which they fear may hasten the speed of the transactions and cause principals to overlook careful integration of risk management. Architecture and engineering firms making these deals should review the target’s current claims, recent loss history, and structure the combined entity’s risk management to address any new or heightened exposures. 7. AI-driven applications bring new risks. As more design firms integrate AI into their processes, insurers are carefully monitoring these developments and their potential effects on claim activity. As architecture and engineering firms look to leverage new opportunities
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THE ZWEIG LETTER JULY 14, 2025, ISSUE 1593
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