Insures put the breaks on green roofs
BC's insurance industry and homeowner protection office has stopped covering green roofs. The insurance industry's refusal to cover green roofs has caused confusion and outrage in the green-roof industry and delayed dozens of developments including the Olympic Village, which was originally required to be build with a green roof.
Many people are speculating that BC's insurance industry is still wary of anything involving water in proximity to building walls after the leaky condo crisis, which hurt consumers, developers and insurers. However Steven Peck, president of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities says "millions of square feet of green roofs have been installed in countries like Germany, while green roofs are booming in North America, with no signs of problems beyond what any roof might have".
Green roofs use various layers of membrane, drainage and growing material to create lush garden spaces on building roofs. The various layers allow rooftop vegetation to grow without penetrating the roof itself. Roger Bayley of Merrick Architecture, the firm developing the Olympic village, thinks that the insurance industry's sudden hesitation may be caused by the proliferation of new companies offering different systems. He hopes that insurers understand that the new companies are due to increasing demand not changing technology, because without insurance there is not much anyone can do.
(All cited quotes & figures are from The Vancouver Sun, April 14)