Abstract

The insurance industry is rarely thought of as having much concern about energy issues. However, the historical involvement by insurers and allied industries in the development and deployment of familiar technologies such as automobile air bags, fire prevention/suppression systems, and anti-theft devices, shows that this industry has a long history of utilizing technology to improve safety and otherwise reduce the likelihood of losses for which they would otherwise have to pay. We have identified nearly 80 examples of energy-efficient and renewable energy technologies that offer “loss-prevention” benefits, and have mapped these opportunities onto the appropriate segments of the very diverse insurance sector (life, health, property, liability, business interruption, etc.). Some insurers and risk managers are beginning to recognize these previously "hidden" benefits. The paper describes findings of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory insurance industry project, which has helped to develop the business case for insurer involvement in energy efficiency and has documented early examples of insurer efforts along these lines. The identified actions of forward-looking insurers include reduced premiums for architects and engineers who practice building commissioning (reduces risk of liability-related losses), insurer promotion of improved indoor air quality practices (mitigating life, health, and liability risks), and insurer promotion of energy-efficient torchiere light fixtures (eliminates a significant fire hazard). The paper reviews recent proactive steps taken by insurers and risk managers in the energy-efficiency/market-transformation arena.

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Panels of

Panel 1: Policy (incentives, normative measures, policy mixes to achive CO_2 reduction)

Panel 2: Technologies and Products (innovation, marketing, market transformation)

Panel 4: Environmental Perspective (externalities and life cycle approaches, local and global impacts and incentatives)

Panel 3: Dynamics of Consumption (social and cultural perspectives, actors and their interactions)

Panel 5: Land use,Transportation and infrastructure (urban and regional planning, approaches to change in well entrenched systems)