Cost for Concrete vs Wood Buildings
A study prepared for the Concrete Council of Canada, compares the insurance costs for concrete versus wood mid-rise (six-storey) and high-rise buildings. A wide range of factors influence insurance pricing including economic, social and policy. However, certain risk factors weight more heavily such as source of supply, moisture protection, fire resistance, climate-related performance and replacement costs.
The analysis supporting this report focused on assessing the factors guiding rate setting for insuring the construction and on-going operation of mid-rise residential structures and to determine the reasons for the significant differences that exist with respect to the availability of insurance and the rates charged for buildings constructed mainly from wood compared to those comprised of non-combustible concrete materials.