The Blue Insurance Company wants to be known as the ‘premier underwriter of green buildings'. These are buildings are defined by the EPA as - see http://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/pubs/about.htm.
Green building is the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction. This practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort. Green building is also known as a sustainable or high performance building.
Green buildings are designed to reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment by:
- Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources
- Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity
- Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation
For example, green buildings may incorporate sustainable materials in their construction (e.g., reused, recycled-content, or made from renewable resources); create healthy indoor environments with minimal pollutants (e.g., reduced product emissions); and/or feature
landscaping that reduces water usage (e.g., by using native plants that survive without extra watering).
Your assignment is to consider the property underwriting implications of insuring green buildings. This should take you 2+ single spaced pages to accomplish. You will need two external references - not EPA nor your text. For proper citation of references, please consult the
APA citation guide in Blackboard.
Some of (but not all) of the issues you will need to address include:
a. valuation
b. damageability
c. availability of building materials
d. geographic considerations
e. rating issues
f. fire protection - internal and external
g. new perils or hazards associated with green buildings - whether to exclude or cover - thus you will be considering policy and coverage issues
h. competition issues
i. marketing issues - how to reach your goal of ‘premier underwriter of green'.