Dive Brief:

• "Normal" in the construction industry will not be what it was in the days before the recession.
• Contractors who survived the recession frequently are stronger companies than they were before the bottom fell out.
• It feels like pre-recession days in some parts of the residential market, such as East Coast cities, but that resurgence is definitely localized.

Dive Insight:

Overall, construction insurance brokers around the country said they see recovery in the commercial construction sector, but find contractors are cautious in their optimism. Even in places where they said residential is growing rapidly, the pace is not like it was pre-recession. As one California broker put it, “It’s like the new norm. The majority of contractors have readjusted and there’s cautious optimism, but there’s a new normal in construction.”