The green movement is here to stay. As homeowners upgrade everything from roofs to floors, from windows to appliances with green materials, they should also remain mindful that their homeowner’s insurance is equally friendly to the environment. As demand for options has risen, there are plenty of green homeowner’s insurance policy options around.
In short, the need for green insurance comes from the fact that green materials and furnishing are more costly than their non-environment-friendly counterparts. A green insurance company should provide you with one of these two options (or preferably, both):
1. In case of damage or loss, the option to pay for the replacement of your current green materials and appliances with ones of equal quality, not merely any ones that serve the intended purpose.
2. In case of damage or loss, the option to pay for the replacement on current non-green materials and appliances with ones that are environment-friendly. You obviously won’t get the top of the line stuff, but the replacements should be sufficiently close to green standards.
An insurance company that offers the above and also abides by basic internal environmentally-friendly practices can be considered to be green.
If you live in a building with multiple units, you can also check on building’s master insurance policy. If the homeowner’s association has chosen a non-green policy, make your opinion known so that when the time comes to renew the master policy, a greener option will be taken into consideration.
And remember, insurance companies want your business. Generally, they will be happy to discuss these ins-and-outs of their policies with you if it means retaining or gaining a new customers, so don’t be afraid to ask questions.
