Insurance policies aim to rebuild green

Keeping pace with their industry peers, St. Paul-based Travelers (NYSE: TRV) and Philadelphia-based ACE USA (NYSE: ACE) insurance companies in March both introduced new green building insurance policies.

Travelers now offers coverage for green building re-certification or re-commissioning as well as rebuilding vegetative roofs, none of which were previously covered in commercial building policies. ACE says its new coverage includes improvements to heating and cooling systems as well as carpets, paints and other interior finishes when customers rebuild according to green building standards. 
Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. is planning to roll out later this year a policy for homeowners who want to rebuild to meet a green building standard, according to Susan Murdy, Fireman’s director of media relations.

The company, a member of the Allianz Group (NYSE: AZ), was the first company to offer a green building insurance policy that covers re-certification and re-commissioning of lost buildings that were certified by the U.S. Green Building Council or the Green Building Initiative.