Aviva unveils construction practice for sustainable real estate

By Rebecca Delaney

June 26 - (The Insurer) - Aviva has announced a unified real estate and construction client practice across its construction, latent defects and real estate offerings, as well as expanding its appetite for sustainable construction of large commercial buildings.

The UK insurer's global corporate and specialty (GCS) unit said the unified practice reflects the changing needs of clients and brokers across the full lifecycle of commercial real estate and construction projects.

Aviva has also expanded its appetite for sustainable construction of large commercial buildings through an enhanced mass timber proposition.

Clients looking to build using mass timber (which reduces embodied carbon by up to 50% compared to traditional reinforced concrete) will be able to obtain lead line offerings from Aviva on construction and latent defects. Upon completion, Aviva will also offer lead line cover for the finished structure.

Aviva said its revised GCS real estate policy wording enhancements will allow for more sustainable reinstatement of buildings as policyholders will be able to make resilient repairs that reduce the likelihood of future damage.

Cover also supports energy efficiency improvements such as additional insulation and the installation of solar panels.

The wording enhancements include cover for own land clean-up following insured damage up to a limit of 100,000 pounds ($137,000), resilient repairs following a storm or flood up to a limit of 500,000 pounds per event, and an increased limit of 500,000 pounds for energy efficient rebuild.

The wording also covers insured loss of income from renewable energy income generated at the premises up to an increased limit of 50,000 pounds, while the buildings definition has been extended to include solar panels and EV chargers.