As the result of years of prodding, tax incentives, rising energy costs and consumer interest, today more than 50 percent of builders are ‘building green.’ The National Association of Homebuilders says inquiries into green practices are up more than 250 percent from last year. Commercial green building and development projects will increase 30 percent over the next five years, according to estimates by the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.

Owners and developers of commercial and institutional properties in North America are advancing green development through state-of-the-art tools, design techniques, and creative use of financial and regulatory incentives. The green building movement has taken off not only due to increased energy costs but also because of the combined and complementary impacts of EPA regulations and U.S. Department of Energy’s ENERGY STAR program, which provides recognition for high-energy-efficiency buildings.

One expert notes that energy efficient systems can reduce insurance losses in commercial property, as well as boiler and machinery, builder’s risk, business interruption, completed operations liability, comprehensive general liability, contractors liability, environmental liability, product liability, professional liability, workers’ compensation, health/life insurance, and homeowners insurance.

Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. released new products in October specifically for certified Green Building Replacement and Green Upgrade coverages that address some of the unique risks that accompany green building practices. One insurance veteran notes that green buildings, due to their high-performance design, do pose a different kind of risk than typical commercial buildings.

Says a Fireman’s Fund spokesman, “Green buildings are designed with state of the art specifications for electric systems, heating and A/C systems and plumbing systems – most of our losses for commercial property insurance come from electric fires, heating and A/C fires, and plumbing leaks. So we feel that if we have a system where these three things have been specifically engineered to be high performance systems the building is going to be a better insurance risk.”