How to get Green Home Insurance

How to get green home insurance

If you have an environmental conscience you may have focused your efforts in the past on recycling, spraying fewer CFC gases or even driving around in a hybrid car. However, in recent years ethical products have made their way into the financial sector and now it’s even possible to think green when you take out home insurance.

Green home insurance comes in all shapes and sizes. Some policies offer specific cover for adding environmental features to your home such as solar panels on the roof or using a renewable energy source for electricity. Others act as regular home insurance policies but support green schemes through programs such as carbon offsetting.

So how do you know which green home insurance policy is right for you?

Choosing a green home insurance policy

There are several different types of green home insurance on the market.

Firstly, there is ‘climate neutral’ home insurance offered by the likes of the Environmental Transport Association and RK Shipman home insurance. These policies allow you to offset your home’s emission, which equates to six tonnes per household every year. Generally these insurers support environmental schemes such as replenishing the rain forest or building wind turbines to generate electricity in developing countries. The idea is that while your home emits carbon dioxide and other harmful gases you are effectively wiping out your own pollution because your home insurance policy adds financial support to one of these schemes.

As a general rule, policies that offer carbon offsetting schemes are more expensive than conventional insurance policies although that depends on your circumstances as a homeowner – such as where you live and the type of home you live in.

In addition, several conventional insurers have begun to offer green home insurance policies of their own. For example, Lloyds TSB home insurance offers protection for the repair, replacement and theft of equipment that generates electricity. This is to address the growing number of homeowners who are eco-conscious and prefer to generate their own electricity at home rather than rely on the National Grid which takes much of its energy from non-renewable sources.

Chubb Insurance also offers an environmentally friendly policy. In a bid to promote the green agenda, it encourages homeowners to go green after their property is damaged or destroyed. It assists them with insurance that covers the costs of rebuilding with environmentally sound materials as well as implementing heating and cooling systems.

So for homeowners, the key when choosing a green insurance product is what you want it to achieve. Do you want it to provide cover for home energy systems and other environmental implementations or do you want it to simply support environmental causes? Answering this question should help you determine which policy is right for you.

The argument against green home insurance

Green insurance products have come in for some criticism. Generally, the policies are more expensive than conventional insurance policies meaning there is little reward for going green, something that has become particularly prevalent during the global economic crisis.

As such, some critics encourage homeowners who want to do their bit for the environment to look at other ways to help. Instead of putting their money into a green home insurance product they can simply shop around for the cheapest home insurance deal they can find that offers adequate cover. They can then use the money saved to contribute towards an environmental cause of their own choice.

The problem here is that it relies on self-discipline to actively hold the money back and put it into an environmental project. However, if you feel this is something you can do then there are certainly plenty of ways to save.

If you’re locked into a home insurance deal you could save money by fitting burglar alarms, security lighting and time-switch lights to your home. By reducing the risk of theft not only will you enjoy added peace of mind but you should be able to earn discounts from insurers which you can then use to contribute to an environmental project. There is more money to be saved if you fit smoke alarms at your home, quit smoking or increase your voluntary excess - as long as you set it at an affordable level.

Then when your home insurance policy is close to renewal, shop around with a comparison website to find yourself the cheapest deal. If you haven’t compared policies in some time you could save a substantial amount of money as most providers offer their cheapest deals to new customers in a bid to attract business.