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Webcast: Property retrofitting can reduce insurance costs

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While property upgrades often are driven by building codes and insurance requirements, proactive retrofitting can reduce insurance costs during the property's lifetime, experts said during a recent Business Insurance webcast.

The first step in a beneficial retrofit project is performing an assessment that takes into consideration the hazard risk inventory, drivers of maximum loss potentials and the cost of improvements compared with anticipated savings, said Robert J. Smith Jr., managing director, global property risk consulting practice leader at Marsh Inc. in Chicago during the webcast, titled “Get Retrofit: Insurance Savings from Property Upgrades.”

The free, 60-minute webcast can be viewed at www.businessinsurance.com/webcasts.

Benefits of retrofitting

“We all know how organizations are moving toward a more holistic view of risk,” Janice Ochenkowski, managing director and head of risk management at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. in Chicago, said during the webcast.

“If we take an enterprise view, we can think of retrofitting not only to minimize loss in the event of a catastrophe,” but also to “enhance the safety and operational climate for employees and visitors, and to increase the value of the property as well as the potential for profit at the time of a sale,” she said.

While there is no documentation yet that green buildings have lower insurance premiums, state-of-the-art infrastructure can reduce liability, health and workers compensation claims, which reduce overall insurance costs.

Long-term investment

Both speakers emphasized that building upgrades should be viewed as long-term investments to increase value rather than a short-term way to shave insurance costs in time for an upcoming renewal.

Business Insurance Senior Editor Michael Bradford moderated the webcast.

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