What is solar panel insurance and what are the options available in the UK? Here we explore the options you have to insure solar panels.
Having solar panels installed doesn't come cheap.
In fact, the average home will pay between £5,000 and £10,000 to have a solar array installed.
Many people also choose to get solar on the basis of the average warranty period - 25 years and the financial rewards calculated over that period of time.
Yet life happens - theft, technical faults or freak weather events could all occur and wreak havoc with your solar. Not only would replacing or fixing them be a financial hit, but the lost energy could also soon add up.
Want to avoid this nightmare situation? If so, solar insurance may be exactly what you are looking for, but be warned, not all insurance throughout the industry is equal.
In this guide, we'll explore the common insurance available with solar and what else you should be aware of.
PS All solar installs at Heatable come with a 25-year warranty and the solar panels are insured by an independent insurance company (not just the manufacturer - for extra peace of mind).
PS We offer MCS-certified solar panel installation nationwide. Simply answer these questions, get your fixed price and arrange your free design.
Solar Insurance Key Points:
Home insurance may not cover solar panels - always check.
Solar panel insurance can protect against theft, damage, and other issues.
Most solar insurance will not include accidental damage.
All solar panel installs via Heatable come with a warranty and are fully insured.
Solar panel insurance may be purchased separately.
Premiums for solar panel insurance are typically low.
Insurance coverage should be reviewed carefully to understand what is and isn't covered.
An accredited solar panel installer may be able to provide guidance on insurance options.
What is Solar Panel Insurance?
Solar panel insurance means that broken or stolen solar panels will be repaired or replaced in a whole host of unexpected scenarios.
Ultimately, with solar panel insurance, you could save money if your panels faced any significant issues over time or needed to be replaced entirely.
Most solar panel insurance will cover theft and natural disasters.
But bear in mind, the majority of plans do not cover you from accidental damage.
This type of insurance differs from home insurance which may or may not cover solar panels in their own right.
Moreover, how any given home insurance would apply to solar panels could lack some elements provided by solar panel insurance.
Still, learning about solar? Check out our guides on how many solar panels you need and how solar car charging works.
Solar Panel Insurance Options
There are three primary solutions to insuring your solar panels, namely, solar panel insurance, warranties, and (in many cases), home insurance.
But how exactly do they differ, and which is the best option?
Does Home Insurance Cover Solar Panels?
In some cases, solar panels will be included as part of your regular building insurance, but you will need to check with your provider.
It's also important to ask exactly what is covered as this will give you a better idea of what exactly you are protected against e.g. theft, natural disaster, accidental damage and so on.
Additionally, even if it is included as part of your home insurance, you will need to inform your provider that you have had solar installed.
PS We have reviewed the best solar panels and covered how long solar panels last in the UK.
Will Your Home Insurance Increase?
In some cases, your home insurance may increase slightly once you have informed them that you have solar installed.
A common scenario is that the insurance provider may claim that you are a company as a result of you selling electricity to the grid.
We suggest that you start shopping around for a new insurance provider if they requesting additional fees that you find unreasonable.
Of course, the caveat to this is that we are talking about the average domestic solar install and not a large solar farm or a substantial number of ground-mounted panels - in these cases, it's very unlikely your home insurance will cover you.
Explore a Solar Case Study: Check out an insightful Q&A session featured in one of our detailed case studies on domestic solar panels. Hear directly from a Heatable customer in the UK and gain valuable perspectives on their experience here.
The image above shows a 23-panel solar installation, carried out by the MCS-certified solar team at Heatable, featuring the REA Fusion2 solar panels.
Solar Panel Insurance
Alternatively, you could seek separate solar panel insurance, likely from another provider to your home insurance.
Most solar panel insurance contracts will cover any type of solar panel, whether it be regular monocrystalline or polycrystalline panels or hybrid solar technology.
For example, major insurers such as LV will insure solar panels and categorise them as 'permanent fixtures'.
However, you should always confirm with the provider that your panels will be covered.
Some solar panels i.e. ones purchased via Heatable will also come with their solar insurance, so make sure to check this before worrying about having to deal without sourcing your own.
Solar Panel Warranties
Most solar panels come with their own manufacturer's warranties which are effectively another form of insurance.
However, be aware that they will not cover many of the same scenarios as standalone solar insurance e.g. theft or natural disasters so solar insurance is still advisable.
There are two types of manufacturer warranties when it comes to solar panels:
Solar Equipment Warranty
Firstly, this form of warranty protects your solar panels from physical/hardware issues with your panels.
Most solar panel equipment warranties last for around 10-12 years. They generally protect against failing solar panels and defective panels among other issues.
In most cases, solar panel warranties are transferable if you decide to sell your home. This would only increase the odds that you could secure a deal.
Related solar guides:
Solar Performance Warranty
This sort of coverage insures your solar panels should they see an unacceptable drop in performance over a given timeframe.
With both performance and equipment warranties, they tend to be time-limited (e.g., 12 years or 25 years), although lifetime warranties also exist.
With regards to a performance warranty in particular, if you had a 25-year performance warranty, this is the manufacturer offering a guarantee that the solar panel(s) in question would maintain a certain output level for 25 years.
If this guarantee is not met, you will be eligible for some form of compensation (e.g., new replacement panels for free). However, the details of how this would work vary from provider to provider.
The average performance warranty should guarantee an output of no less than 90% of the original output after a decade has passed.
As for warranties that reach or extend beyond 25 years, panels are usually guaranteed to have 80% of their original output after this amount of time has passed. *
*The performance warranty of solar panels generally reflects how much confidence the manufacturer has in their products. Most panels have a degradation rate of about 0.5% a year, however, some will degrade more slowly than others. The latter would usually be reflected in an above-average performance warranty, such as a lifetime guarantee. All in all, most solar panels should last for about 25-30 years before it makes sense to replace them.
Why Do You Need Solar Insurance?
Solar panels are not cheap and the average UK home will pay between £5,000 and £10,000.
Not only will you have to face the repair or replacement costs in the event that you do not have insurance, but you will also lose the free solar energy you have been generating until you do.
Therefore, solar insurance will protect you from these potential scenarios e.g. in the event of a natural disaster or theft.
Please be aware that most solar insurance will not cover accidental damage.
Best Type of Solar Insurance in the UK
If you decide to seek insurance for your solar panels, you should spend time looking for the right provider.
Or, if you have home insurance where solar panels are covered, you should set aside sufficient time to consider whether your current insurer is the best choice.
Here are some pointers to consider when choosing the best solar insurance:
The cost of the insurance or in the case of home insurance, how much it costs or/and to what extent solar panel coverage would increase the pricing.
Do they offer complete protection for solar panels or is their coverage limited?
Will their insurance definitely cover your installation or the installation you have in mind?
What terms and conditions apply that may be relevant to choosing the ideal insurer for you?
Please take a look at their customer reviews, whether on their website, social media, or other review sites. You might also want to check out their Google Reviews.
Solar Inverter Insurance
You’ll be glad to know that once you have solar panel insurance, you shouldn’t need separate insurance for a solar inverter.
However, if your insurance package does not cover inverters, it can be pretty expensive to seek this separately.
This is partly because solar inverters last between 10 and 15 years on average, meaning they are generally not as long-lasting as solar panels.
This also means that many homeowners will need to replace their inverters before they replace their panels.
However, at Heatable, we use microinverters from Enphase, so this is not typically an issue.
Microinverters are more expensive to buy, but they typically last for around 25 years and come with a 25-year warranty too.
For example, the Enphase microinverter reports a 1 in 2000 failure rate and they’re backed by a full replacement 25-year warranty.
In a 25-year life of a system, you’d need to budget at least two replacement string inverters (these carry a warranty of between 5-10 years) and would cost in the region of £1000-£2000 each time, plus any loss of generation as the whole system will be down.
If you are researching solar panel companies, you may find our resources valuable. Check out our comprehensive comparison of the best solar panel companies in the UK, learn about the Distribution Network Operator (DNO) process, and explore our detailed solar panel guide and solar advice section for expert insights and recommendations.
Next Steps For Your Solar Journey:
When planning to install solar panels for your home, there are several important factors to consider. Make sure to refer to the following guides to help you make informed decisions:
To dive deeper into these topics, head over to our advice section, check out our YouTube channel for informative videos, or read a customer case study to see how others have benefited from their solar installation.
Get a Quote for Solar Today
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Exclusive Panels: We offer REA Fusion solar panels, available only through Heatable.
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Bespoke Design Tool: Draw your own conclusion (literally) on whether solar is worth it for you, here.
