3304 Assignment 5a Project (30 points)

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’