Commercial solar installations require a variety of insurance products to ensure coverage against their risk exposures. These products generally include general liability, property, warranty and environmental risk.
General Liability
General liability coverage for commercial solar installations protects the policy holder against injuries or damages to third parties. The location of an installation affects the liability coverage needs. An installation on the roof of a building will generally need additional liability coverage when compared to a ground-mounted solar install. Roof mounted systems have additional inherent risk associated with working on roofs and increased stresses on the installation from wind loading. Ground installations are usually developed away from urban areas reducing the risk of third party injury or damage. The liability coverage limits of ground mounted solar installations tend to be much lower than rooftop systems. Risk is greatest during the installation of a solar farm liability coverage is most important during this period.
Property Risk Insurance
While warranty coverage does offer some limited coverage from defects and inherent vices, it leaves a gap in coverage that can make a solar installation vulnerable to damages resulting from theft or natural catastrophe. Property risk insurance is intended to fill in the gap left by warranty coverage. Property risk compensates the policy holder in the event event of a loss or damages to their property. The most common property risks to solar farms are theft of components and natural catastrophe. In areas with high risk of natural catastrophes such as earthquakes, hurricanes and tornados catastrophe coverage may need to be purchased in a separate policy.
Environmental Risk Insurance
Environmental risk insurance covers the policy holder against the risk of environmental damages resulting from development and pre-existing environmental problems on the covered property. Most insurance carriers do not offer this type of coverage. If you need environmental coverage for your installation your carrier choices will be limited. There are a variety of different environmental insurance policies that can cover a multitude of risks.
Business Interruption Insurance
Business interruption insurance protects your business from loss resulting from interruptions in operations or the start of operations. In the event that your solar installation is unable to produce power this coverage will provide compensation for lost revenue resulting from the interruption.