LOS ANGELES — Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. is targeting environmentally conscious homeowners with a new insurance product that would cover the cost of rebuilding a home to green building standards.

"The green upgrade will actually replace a home that is not already green in the event of a loss," said Erron Al-Amin, the company's senior director of personal insurance.

Fireman's Fund, which officially unveiled the plan Tuesday, is offering the green coverage option in several states, including Arizona, Georgia, Maine and Nevada. In California it will be folded into the overall plan beginning Aug. 1.

The Novato-based company has received clearance to sell the optional coverage in 26 states, Al-Amin said, and expects to get clearance from all U.S. states by the end of the year.

The green coverage is being offered only as an add-on to the company's top-tier homeowners insurance package. It would cost $25 a year to add the coverage for a home with a replacement cost valued at $500,000 or less, Al-Amin said.

The green coverage feature also only kicks in if the damage is already covered under the overall base homeowners insurance policy. Flood damage, for example, isn't covered unless the homeowner pays for that coverage add-on as well.

Norma Garcia, a senior attorney for Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, said the green-oriented coverage plan has the potential to encourage homeowners to rebuild their homes in a more environmentally friendly way.

"To the extent that it's an innovative and affordable product that increases options for homeowners, that's a good thing," Garcia said. "It might very well be a great product, or it might be something that is just skating off the whole green phenomena."

Garcia noted that consumers should consider the overall benefit of such coverage compared with their present coverage.

Consumers who already own a home with certified as green under standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council would be offered a 5 percent discount off their total insurance premiums under the plan, the company said.

Homeowners whose property doesn't feature green options such as Energy Star-rated lighting and appliances, water-saving plumbing fixtures or framing made of recycled materials, would receive up to 10 percent of the cost to replace their home toward making green upgrades.