The Construction Risks and Rewards in New Materials and Tech

Advances in building materials promise to improve construction, if not revolutionize it. Innovations like mass timer, 3D-printed construction and different types of concrete have the potential to address long-standing industry issues like rising costs, lagging productivity and materials shortages.

But the potential of such materials doesn’t always translate into insurance coverage. Here’s how mass timber, 3D printing and advances in concrete are affecting risk and insurance in construction.

Will mass timber receive mass acceptance?

Mass (for “massive”) timber is soft pieces such as pine and spruce joined to form larger pieces of wood. Cross-laminated timber (CLT), the best-known form of mass timber, can be used for floors, walls, ceilings or even entire buildings.

Mass timber is strong. It’s difficult to ignite. It holds up better against earthquakes than concrete. Mass timber is typically fabricated in a factory, speeding construction, lowering labor costs and creating less waste. Buildings using mass timber can go up 25% faster and create 90% less construction traffic.¹

Mass timber has been available for nearly 20 years; Canada today has more than 500 mid-rise mass timber buildings built or under construction.² The U.S. has nearly 250 buildings completed and 460 in design.³

But even with its advantages and superior fire resistance over conventional wood, insurers aren’t necessarily embracing it, and are often concerned with mass timber’s long-term water exposure and the risk of defects over time. Widespread acceptance of mass timber may take more experience and data for carriers to get on board.

3D printing blurs some construction risks

Three-dimensionally printed buildings are made using automation that layers concrete to construct dwellings.⁴ The technology has created a good amount of interest in residential construction, as technology can build homes faster, cheaper, more consistently and with less labor than traditional wood-frame construction.

The technology is being embraced worldwide. In Austin, Texas, developers will start work in 2022 on a 100-home community being built with 3D printing construction, touted as the largest such neighborhood in the U.S.⁵ More than 30 startups in Canada are using 3D printing for mass construction to combat high housing costs, while the city-state of Dubai expects 30% of its new construction to be 3D printed by 2030.⁶

For all the promise of 3D-printed homes, insurers are wary. Three-dimensionally made building components may fall under a traditional product liability underwriting assessment.

However, components can go through multiple vendors: designed by one party, digitized by another, sold for downloading by a third and ultimately printed by the end user, making it difficult to determine and assign product liability.

Concrete: No longer set in concrete

Concrete is the most widely used material in construction, with 10 billion tons produced annually.⁷ And innovations in the material could make its use even more widespread.

Concrete has been used as a building material for thousands of years, and the issues with it are well known. For instance, splits and ruptures in concrete buildings with concrete exteriors, especially in extreme cold weather, require constant maintenance.

There is “bendable” concrete, which embeds densely packed organic or metallic fibers to achieve flexibility. Another is “green” concrete, which uses graphene as an additive. The graphene absorbs and stores carbon dioxide, offsetting emissions produced in production, and the graphene also makes green concrete highly resistant to cracks and water damage.

Despite the possibilities of new types of concrete in construction, it’s expected to take at least a decade before their use becomes widespread. That will give underwriters pause, as they want data from long-term use to help evaluate the risks of bendable and green concrete.

HUB International’s construction industry consultants are available to work with you on trends and developments that may impact your risk posture today and in the future.

¹ ThinkWood.com, “4 Things to Know About Mass Timber,” accessed November 11, 2021.
² The Guardian, “Canadian cities take wooden skyscrapers to new heights,” July 2019.
³ Building Design & Construction, “A new report predicts significant demand growth for mass timber components,” July 5, 2020.
⁴ All 3D Pro, “8 Biggest Companies Building 3D Houses,” September 9, 2021.
⁵ Insider, “Construction on the largest neighborhood of 3D-printed homes in the US will begin in Austin in 2022 — take a look at the 100-home community,” October 29, 2021.
⁶ Storeys, “3D-Printed Housing Already Exists in Canada, but is it the Future?” July 8, 2021.
⁷ Specify Concrete, “Eco-Friendly Alternatives To Traditional Concrete,” July 18, 2019.