Baton Rouge Company Reduces Insurance, Litigation Risk by Verifying and Monitoring Construction Subcontractors
Don Morgan just wanted some limbs cut out of the trees that grow around his home in St. Francisville.
The six different companies he called claimed to be insured and bonded, but not one could prove it. And the last tree trimmer wanted his $2,000 up front.
"So I did it myself," says Morgan.
The incident got Morgan thinking there must be a better way to check the credentials of potential hired hands.
So he founded a company called ProServe Pro in Baton Rouge. He changed the name in January to Go Kahuna, which is Hawaiian for shaman.
"We started at the consumer level and realized this is more of a risk-management tool," says Morgan.
Go Kahuna provides third-party verification of the qualification, licensing and insurance status of construction subcontractors across the country. Go Kahuna can minimize risk from insurance claims and litigation, says Morgan.
For $999 per year, general contractors can be certified by Go Kahuna and have a list of their subcontractors verified and continually monitored by Go Kahuna. If one of those subcontractors lets their insurance lapse, for instance, Go Kahuna sends an e-mail to its client warning them of the situation. If an accident occurs on a construction site, and the general contractor finds out afterwards that a subcontractor had no insurance, the general contractor could be sued instead.
When certifying businesses, Go Kahuna also consults local and national Better Business Bureaus, conducts criminal background checks and monitors Dun & Bradstreet ratings (or professional business references). Go Kahuna can even tell construction companies about exclusions and endorsements, such as how building regulations differ from one Texas county to another.
Go Kahuna's motto is "relax, they're certified." Morgan says the business model is based on "quality, integrity and accountability."
Morgan previously worked in the aerospace industry, where he says, "You don't make mistakes, and you don't deal with shabby contractors."
Homeowners, risk managers and companies that aren't certified with Go Kahuna can also check gokahuna.com to see if particular subcontractors are Go Kahuna-certified--a free service.
Go Kahuna is the only company of its kind in the United States, and there's a patent pending on the business model.
Since the early days, Go Kahuna's business has spread much beyond tree trimmers and other residential repairs.
The hurricanes that battered Louisiana last year caused the construction industry to boom here, and fraud has been a major concern. If a subcontractor is certified with Go Kahuna, though, the client knows the subcontractor has the appropriate licenses to do the work it claims to be able to do. For every licensed subcontractor in Louisiana, there are 4.2 unlicensed contractors, says Haggai Davis, Go Kahuna's vice president of sales and marketing.
In August, Go Kahuna entered into an alliance with the construction business unit of Zurich North America Commercial to offer risk-management services to Zurich's customers. Zurich does about $60 billion a year in construction work. That alliance took Go Kahuna national.
Go Kahuna recently signed an agreement with Lookout Services of Houston to do I-9 compliance services to determine if employees are working in this country legally.
Other Go Kahuna clients include The Shaw Group, The Baton Rouge Area Chamber, the Houston Area Safety Council and Cox Communications.
Morgan says the company is expanding and will soon add the medical field to its database, which is housed at Network Technology Group in Baton Rouge. The data are backed up at two other locations.
Go Kahuna has fewer than 10 employees now, but the number should be closer to 30 by Jan. 1. The company is also in the process of doubling the size of its office in the Bon Carre Business Center to 5,000 square feet.
