Green improvements 'seen as too costly'

By Marianne Straker, Mon 22 Feb 2010 - Published in Home Insurance

Home insurance customers are put off making green improvements to their properties because they see them as being too expensive, it has been claimed.

Duncan Hayes, editor at Build It Magazine, pointed out that the government has taken some steps to encourage environmentally-friendly improvements, such as the boiler scrappage scheme, but claimed more could be done.

He suggested that more funding should be allocated to green improvement schemes, as they tend to run out of money too quickly at current levels and leave many homeowners to pay for projects themselves.

"It is a great shame really that the products aren't cheaper or subsidised by the government or there's not the financial incentive," the expert added. "When people are given the payback time of 20 years, they don't see themselves in the house in 20 years."

Mr Hayes also noted that the UK's new housing stock is likely to perform well environmentally, because regulations require green improvements by default, but warned that older properties are likely to fall below standard.

Last week, the government announced that 54,758 vouchers have been taken up under its boiler scrappage scheme, accounting for 43.8 per cent of the total.

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