Insurance giant tailors underwriting program to mass timber

Source: Zurich North America, Schaumburg, Ill. 

A key player in insurance solutions for construction, Zurich North America is expanding coverage offerings to commercial projects using mass timber, a group of engineered wood products touted for resilience and sustainability. The company will offer up $50 million insurance capacity to qualified customers and make Mass Timber Builders Risk available for project-specific coverage or under a Master Builders Risk program. 

“We designed [the] proposition based on input from a wide range of insurance brokers,” says Zurich NA Head of Construction Property Patrick McBride. “We devised a solution to meet the demands of an increasingly popular segment of the construction market. We expect to see strong momentum behind [mass timber] adoption over the next several years and are aligning offerings to ensure we can enable clients to integrate it into their operations.”

Mass timber is stronger, more versatile and more durable than light-frame wood, which is one reason Zurich NA, unlike many insurance providers, differentiates mass timber from light-frame wood construction in its underwriting, he adds. The Mass Timber Builders Risk offering follow the launch of Zurich NA’s Construction Weather Parametric Solution, advancing resilience and sustainability. 

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