Solar panel insurance: is it worth it?

When you get solar panels, you want to protect your investment.

The panels are resilient, but accidental or weather-related damage is always possible, especially since they last up to 40 years.

And your battery and inverter’s lifespans are about 10-12 years, so it’s best to get a policy that will replace them for free when they stop functioning properly.

Your home insurance will likely cover you against a limited number of faults and mishaps, but other policies – like the Sunsave Guarantee – are more comprehensive and come with 24/7 monitoring.

If you would like to see the savings you could get from a solar & battery system that’s covered by the Sunsave Guarantee, just answer a few quick questions below and we’ll provide an estimate.

What is solar panel insurance?

Solar panel insurance is cover that protects you from the financial blow of your system getting stolen, damaged, or destroyed in numerous specific ways.

If you successfully claim on solar panel insurance, you’ll get a payout to help you to repair or replace your system.

Most providers include solar panels in buildings insurance, treating them as part of the fabric of your home, just like the doors, floors, and walls.

However, these policies can be insufficiently comprehensive, unless you pay extra.

This means you can often attain a better level of cover if you get solar panel insurance separately.

What does solar panel insurance typically cover?

Solar panel insurance will generally cover you against environmental damage such as storms, hail, lightning, subsidence, and impacts – like a tree falling.

You’ll also usually be protected against theft, fire, and vandalism.

This can vary widely though, so when you’re considering which policy to get, make sure you thoroughly check what they all cover.

Some policies, like the Sunsave Guarantee, also include downtime protection. This means you can get reimbursed if your panels underperform for an extended period of time.

Solar panel insurance doesn’t usually come with a free replacement battery and inverter once they decline below a certain level, either – but the Sunsave Guarantee does.

Your system will also be insured by Aviva against damage, fire and theft.

We’ll manage any warranty claims you want to make, too.

Will your home insurance cover your solar panels?

Most home insurance policies cover rooftop solar panels under buildings insurance, though this will only cover you for a limited number of potential events.

These won’t usually include wear and tear, accidental damage, or downtime cover.

This means that if your panels stop producing electricity for an extended period of time, you won’t be able to claim back this lost revenue.

Some insurance companies also won’t protect you against extreme weather like lightning – though they often hide this exclusion by simply saying they don’t cover ‘acts of god’.

If you have ground-mounted solar panels instead of roof-mounted ones, these aren't considered to be part of the fabric of your home, so you’ll generally need a separate policy for them.

Do you need to tell your home insurance provider that you have solar?

At Sunsave, we strongly recommend that you tell your home insurance provider once you have solar panels, just like you would after any other significant modification to your property.

It may increase how much you pay for insurance, as solar panels can raise the value of your home. For the average home, solar panels increase the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating by at least one grade, and homes with a higher EPC rating tend to sell for more. For instance, in research from 2023, Rightmove found that increasing a property’s EPC from a D to C lifts its value by 3% (or £11,157), on average. 

Most home insurance providers view solar panels as part of the fabric of your home, so informing them is a must.

However, we know that your home insurance policy is not going to provide all the cover you need, which is why the Sunsave Guarantee includes insurance, downtime cover, and free replacement parts (more on that below).

Do solar panels actually need insuring?

You should definitely insure your solar panels.

They’re sturdy, resilient, and spend up to 40 years functioning to a high standard – but as with any product you own, things can still go wrong.

If you’re adequately covered, you won’t have to worry every time a storm rages outside, or panic if your system temporarily goes down.

Ideally, you’ll be protected against all of these potential hazards:

• Theft
• Vandalism
• Fire
• Natural disasters
• Damage caused by storms, debris, branches, or birds
• Accidental damage (e.g. a stray cricket ball from the garden)
• Periodic downtime

Do solar panel warranties provide enough cover?

Unfortunately, solar panel warranties on their own don’t provide nearly enough cover.

They will typically only allow you to claim on faults caused by the manufacturer or installer, such as a technical problem or a sharp, early decline in performance.

And they don’t generally protect you against fire, theft, vandalism, natural disasters, or accidental damage.

Workmanship and materials warranties are also insufficient, as they usually only last one or two years, and are again limited to a very specific set of faults.

Why the Sunsave Guarantee is better than home insurance

The Sunsave Guarantee is part of our 20-year solar subscription service, Sunsave Plus, which provides households with a solar & battery system for a fixed monthly fee, with no upfront cost.

Every Sunsave Plus system is fully insured against damage, fire, and theft for 20 years – and you’ll be reimbursed for any extended periods of downtime.

You’ll also receive 24/7 monitoring and maintenance support, so we can identify and troubleshoot any issues as they occur, and a free replacement battery and inverter when they decline below a certain performance level.

These additions put the Sunsave Guarantee streets ahead of home insurance when it comes to protecting your investment.

Insured by Aviva

Your system will be insured by Aviva, which covers you against theft, fire, and vandalism, as well as damage caused by birds, natural disasters, and weather events like storms, hail, and lightning.

You’ll also be protected against accidental damage, which isn’t included in most home insurance policies.

So whatever hits your panels – whether it’s stray branches, a cricket ball, or a rock swept up in a hurricane – you’ll be covered.

Downtime cover

If your solar panel system stops producing electricity, and we can’t get it up and running again remotely, you won’t have to pay for the system until we’ve fixed the issue.

Insurance should compensate you for extended downtime when it’s not your fault – and the Sunsave Guarantee does exactly that.

Wear & tear cover

Home insurance policies don’t protect you against wear and tear to your solar & battery system.

The Sunsave Guarantee doesn’t include normal wear and tear to your panels, but they’re already covered by a 30-year performance warranty and 25-year product warranty with the manufacturer. We’ll also handle any warranty claims for you.

Solar panels will always slowly decline over time, but we’ll track them 24/7 to ensure they generate electricity at the rate they should – and if they don’t, we’ll handle that too.

What’s more, our cover will provide you with a free replacement battery and inverter, which essentially functions as wear and tear cover on these crucial parts of your system.

Your home insurance premium won’t increase

If you ever need to make a claim on your home insurance policy, it could increase your premium, meaning you may be punished for an issue that wasn’t your fault.

The Sunsave Guarantee doesn’t do that. We won’t increase your fee if something goes wrong, so you can make claims without worrying about the consequences.

Easy to contact

If you spot anything amiss with your system or have any questions, we’re always just on the other end of the phone, and are ready to respond immediately.

And since we monitor your system 24/7, we’ll see if anything goes wrong and start working on a solution straight away.

Some home insurance providers are hard to contact, and make it complicated to claim on your policy – but not us.

Summary

Most home insurance policies will cover your solar panel system immediately, but they may not provide as much protection as you need.

They won’t give you a free replacement battery and inverter when these parts inevitably decline, and they don’t generally include accidental damage or downtime cover.

So if your panels stop generating electricity for an extended period, you’ll simply lose the money you would’ve saved.

Sunsave Plus can provide all of this cover and more – without increasing your premium if something goes wrong.

If you’re wondering how much a solar & battery system could save you on Sunsave Plus, answer a few questions below and we’ll provide you with an estimate.

Solar panel insurance: FAQs