Cob: Insurance

[Howard]

Dona,

I'm not sure how helpful this is but I think their may be some insurance companies
somewhere that know they would have been better off putting their money on the old
earthen dwellings most people lived in in India than they did by betting on certain
of the new high social position concrete dwellings that recently went down in an
earthquake killing 30,000. There are some time honored construction techniques that
allow for building buildings that time will honor.  Taos Pueblo is the oldest in the
US at 900+ years, continuously inhabited. Modern building methods have not yet
withstood the test of time. Or, perhaps Mother Nature goes easier on earthen homes.

What I mean is we have a very good argument for insurance company support of such
construction methods.  I understand some insurance companies now are actively
seeking strawbale homes to sell insurance to because, I expect, they like the fire
rating and think they are a good bet.  Earthen construction methods can demonstrate
they are an even better bet by simply pointing out the fact that most of the oldest
continuously inhabited buildings on planet are earthen/wood structures.

Well, the thing is you can build yourself a good home, make sure its good, as was
recently pointed out, when building with natural material you can afford to
overbuild. Modern building design is close to the edge for "efficiency."  That's why
they fall down, sadly that's why the twin towers came down so fast.

Choosing your site carefully can play a big part making it last, of course, don't
build in a flood plain for instance. I think if you build a good solid nice house,
one you can feel good about, then invite an insurance salesperson over to talk about
you buying some home insurance,  show them your house, let them slap the walls, let
them feel it is substantial beyond what they are normally even used to, and I'll bet
that person will work as hard as they can to get you that insurance you want.  That
may not be enough but it is a start.

Communities have dealt with the tragedies of natural disasters in communal ways,
before insurance companies were around,  and building with the materials locally at
hand it was quite possible to rebuild and build smarter. These techniques evolved
hundreds of years before the railroads came.

Like I said, I don't know if this is helpful, but the more cob buildings are
accepted by people like you, who are a bit mainstream but see the logic and
desirability for doing it differently, the more it will be accepted by mainstream
institutions.

Pep talk over,

Howard Switzer



DONA ENGELHARDT wrote:

> Hi all,
> Thanks for your helpful comments on cob and cold temps.
>
> I currently have home owners insurance which covers my house and its
> contents.  Does anyone know how this is handled when owning a cob home?  I
> can't imagine the insurance company not putting up a fight to insure the
> structure and its contents.  I'm assuming I'd just have to insure the
> contents and rely on the fact that I built the cob house well enough so as
> not to worry about it.  This comes up for me as it seems the West is on fire
> and the East is underwater!  I know cob is stronger than conventional
> housing as well as fireproof, but I'm sure the forces of nature could send
> something my way that it couldn't withstand and I'm still a little too
> mainstream to feel comfortable without insurance coverage!  Does anyone have
> any knowlege or experience in this area?

--
Howard Switzer
2411 Elliott Avenue
Nashville, TN 37204
615-383-4793
www.ecoarchitech.net
http://tn.greens.org/

"When one sets out to draw a perspective one must integrate several points of view
or there will be vast distortion, the greatest distortion comes from having only
one."