The Hallandale Beach-based Riemer Insurance Group is nowoffering “Green-Gard” coverage through the Fireman's Fund InsuranceCompany. Green-Gard is a supplemental policy for property owners ofcommercial buildings that currently own green-certified property orhave plans to make their building green certified in the nearfuture. RIG is the first agency in the state to offer this newproduct endorsement, which reflects the growing trend toward usingconstruction techniques that are environmentally friendly. “Ourgoal is to always immediately respond to market demands and stay ontop of industry trends in an ongoing effort to offer our customersthe most up-to-date, comprehensive insurance available,” saidStephen L. Riemer.

As a supplement to property insurance, Green-Gard offers thefollowing coverage and products:

Green Real and Personal Property Upgrade: For owners ofbuildings that are not certified, and may or may not include greenfeatures, the coverage will provide for the cost of making defined,upgraded repairs in the event of a loss. In cases where there is atotal loss to a green building, the coverage will pay the cost torebuild it as a green-certified structure.

Certified Green Building Coverage: For owners of Leadership inEnergy and Environmental Design or Green-Globes-certifiedbuildings, the coverage will extend to repairs that meet thosequalifications.

Building Commissioning Expense: The coverage pays for the costto hire a commissioning engineer to oversee repairs to ensure thatall of the building's power and operating systems are functioningat their maximum levels of performance.

ICustomerSeries(R) Green Resource Center: The center is anonline collection of articles, tools, and other information that isdesigned to provide customers with information on the latestenvironmental building techniques and their benefits.

Among the industries that could have buildings that wouldbenefit from the new building techniques and the economic benefitsinclude commercial and multi-family real estate, hospitals,restaurants, hotels, and various manufacturing and processingplants.

Besides its office in Hallandale Beach, RIG also has an officein Miami and an affiliate, Aspen Insurance Agency, Inc., inAtlanta. RIG is one of the state's largest independent agencies andhas more than 8,000 clients, representing $88 million inpremiums.