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How to insure your home solar-energy system
If you’re installing home solar, make sure your asset is properly protected.
As households across the country battle to keep the lights on, with no end to Eskom load-shedding in sight, sales of home solar and backup electricity systems have boomed. A system with solar panels, an inverter and batteries can power your home during electricity failures – but choosing this solution does make you reliant on it working properly when you need it.
That’s why it’s wise to insure your home solar-power system against damage or loss. If it’s going to be any use in an emergency, you must be able to get it repaired immediately if it’s put out of action.
Why do you need to insure your home solar system?
Load-shedding has been with us for 15 years, and according to an Eskom report in November, it will continue until 2027, if not longer. We can’t predict what stage load-shedding will get to, but regularly having no electricity for 4 to 8 hours a day is not outside the range of possibility – that’s what makes installing a reliable solar system attractive.
There are several potential faults that can cause critical components to fail. There are also natural threats to your system, including hail and thunderstorms – already growing more severe and likely to get even worse, thanks to climate change – and other adverse weather that can damage the equipment. You’ll need cover for fire and theft too.
If your solar-power system fails during a period of frequent load-shedding and it’s not insured, you’ll be plunged into darkness. Proper insurance cover means your backup against grid outages can be restored faster, as you won’t have to worry about finding the money for repairs if disaster strikes.
How to insure your home solar system
Once installed, a solar-energy system becomes part of the building and fixtures on your property, so you can insure it against all risks as part of the building insurance in your comprehensive cover. A comprehensive insurance policy, like Nedbank Insurance MyCover, provides cover for your buildings, home contents, valuables, vehicles and personal legal liability – all in one bundled package.
The benefit of including home solar in your comprehensive insurance policy is that you don't have to worry about what the specific risks are, or when they might occur. If your system was installed correctly by an approved service provider and is properly specified in your insurance policy, your building insurance will cover those risks.
That said, you do need to make sure the system is adequately covered in your insurance policy, with all the required paperwork in place. A crucial document is the certificate of compliance from a qualified, registered electrician certifying that the installation complies with regulatory standards. Your insurer will need a copy of this certificate when you apply for the system to be included in your policy. You don’t need to specify the brand or components in the policy, although it does help to have it noted that your insurance must cover the entire system.
Get peace of mind knowing that your investment and your family’s well-being are properly protected.
It’s sometimes useful to specify items in a policy that are especially valuable or prone to damage – for example, specifying cover for electronic devices against accidental damage caused by power surges as a result of load-shedding. In other instances, insurers may have a maximum pay-out limit unless the item has been specified in the policy. It’s best to check with your insurer what the policy rules are, and if you need to specify your solar-power system or its most vulnerable components. Bear in mind that specified items increase your monthly premium.
How to save on premium increases
A solar installation increases the replacement cost of your home, so both the cover on your buildings and the insurance premium are likely to increase. The additional amount you’ll pay depends on many factors, like the replacement cost, the severity of storms in your area, your claims history, etc. However, building insurance is the cheapest type of insurance you can get to cover fixed equipment. On an average-sized home in an area with moderate risk, the increase in your monthly premium could be under R100.
Compared to the inconvenience of losing your backup system when your family needs it most, a premium increase that small seems insignificant. But if you’re a Nedbank client, you get a discount on your monthly premium, and you can get further discounts by doing a few simple things.
You also get a discount if you apply for MyCover using the Nedbank Money app or Online Banking. A third discount is available if you bundle your MyCover insurance to include at least 2 types of cover – like building and home contents, or vehicle, all risks and personal legal liability.
For minimal cost, you can get peace of mind knowing that your investment and your family’s well-being are properly protected.
Disclaimer
Please note that all costs and financing options quoted in this blog were correct at the time of publication, but are subject to change without notice. Although we update the blogs regularly to keep the information up to date, clients are advised to check current costs and finance options with service providers before making any commitment to solar installation.
