Blog

Demystify Mass Timber Building Insurance with this New Playbook

Don’t miss this practical “how-to” resource from WoodWorks that can help teams proactively address risks and reduce costs when it comes to mass timber building insurance.

Think Wood’s partner organization WoodWorks has launched the U.S. edition of the Mass Timber Insurance Playbook, a guide designed to help building owners and design teams navigate the challenges of obtaining insurance for their mass timber buildings. With detailed steps to bridge the knowledge gap between construction professionals and insurers, this new edition adapts proven strategies from the United Kingdom for the American market. It covers topics from structural safety and fire performance to water damage mitigation and more.

“Adapting the Mass Timber Insurance Playbook is part of WoodWorks’ commitment to helping address challenges related to innovative wood buildings in the U.S.,” said WoodWorks President and CEO Jennifer Cover in a release. “Dodge data shows that, in 2023, more than 1 billion square feet of new construction could have been built using sustainable wood materials by code—and wasn’t.” One of the headwinds facing broader mass timber adoption in the U.S. is educating insurers to the reality of the risks—and more importantly, safety—of mass timber buildings so they can make proper assessments. The playbook helps unlock opportunities for more sustainable building, Cover says, by offering teams clear guidance to better resolve insurance complexities effectively.

T3 Minneapolis

Photo Credit: Ema Peter

Facilitating Insurability: Why You Need This Playbook

Prized for its beauty, brawn, and biophilic benefits, mass timber is gaining traction in the construction industry as a lower-carbon alternative to non-renewable building materials. However, mass timber faces a unique challenge: since it’s still relatively new to the U.S., insurers don’t have enough loss data to accurately assess risks. This gap often leads to higher premiums and difficulties in securing insurance—producing an unfortunate obstacle to those keen to use mass timber in their projects.

Now, developers and construction teams equipped with the Mass Timber Insurance Playbook can tackle these challenges with a proven framework and practical advice on how to better communicate with brokers and insurers.

Developed by WoodWorks in collaboration with insurance and resilience experts—as well as the UK’s Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP)— it helps project teams to “engineer out” risk factors, making mass timber a more feasible and insurable choice. It also helps to educate insurers as they develop their knowledge base about mass timber in the built environment.

“The UK version of the Playbook has been endorsed by the Association of British Insurers and downloaded over 7,000 times since it first launched in May 2023,” said Simon Corbey, CEO of ASBP. “We’re delighted that the U.S. version of the Playbook is now available to enable a more collaborative approach between construction teams and insurers, opening the door to more equitable insurance for mass timber buildings.”

According to Mike Hastings of M.D. Hastings Risk Consulting, a key contributor to the guide, it’s a resource that could even possibly help teams get more favorable terms and pricing when insuring a mass timber building.

“The Mass Timber Insurance Playbook serves as a guide to project teams to embrace insurers as team members,” Hastings says. “As in competitive sport, the playbook is most beneficial when every team member understands and executes their role. For mass timber, this means designing, manufacturing, constructing, and maintaining buildings that are resilient and repairable. Alongside early and effective engagement with insurance company underwriters, loss control engineers, and claims adjusters, this allows project teams to gain insurers’ confidence.”

Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation Center for Conservation

Phot Credit: Richard Barnes

What’s Inside the Playbook?

The playbook includes recommendations for designing with risk management in mind, tips for meeting insurance requirements, and a discussion of regulatory differences that affect mass timber in the U.S. market. These insights are geared to help buildings overcome the insurance barriers that have kept many potential projects on the sidelines.

We’re ready to help! Have a question about how to or if you can use wood in your next project? We can connect you with the industry’s leading experts and resources to provide free project assistance for wood design or construction. Contact us to get started.