Originally posted on InsuranceERM

A joint submission from US specialty managing general agent (MGA), kWh Analytics, and specialty re/insurer Aspen – focusing on solar and renewable projects – shone out in the climate and sustainability collaboration award category.

The initiative involved the specialty MGA launching a property insurance product for renewable energy assets in January 2023, with Aspen as the capacity partner. The product provides coverage against physical damage for solar and other renewable projects, and has introduced much-needed capacity to a rapidly growing industry at a time when traditional insurers are tightening their portfolio exposure.

kWh Analytics used its proprietary database of over 300,000 renewable energy assets and project performance data to underwrite the risk transfer product. By evaluating historical operating data on solar assets from the database, the MGA says it can identify the most common failure modes among existing solar photovoltaic projects.

The findings, which are incorporated into kWh Analytics' property insurance underwriting, are distributed to clients as well as manufacturers, operators and investors in a bid to improve the development of sustainable solar projects.

One member of the InsuranceERM judging panel described the venture as a useful and timely step up by an insurer to provide practical product coverage needed to support green energy adoption. Another member said it was great to see collaboration that extends coverage for solar initiatives and supports this renewable energy source.

Speaking to InsuranceERM, a spokesperson for Aspen and kWh Analytics, explains that renewable energy is a tremendous opportunity, with estimates of $6-7bn of premiums for the renewable energy sector globally this year.

The spokesperson for both players says: "The market is still getting established, and a partnership between renewable energy experts and world-class capacity made sense to address this opportunity."

"Both parties found innovative ways to underwrite renewables to provide additional consideration for asset owners who are proactively designing, building, and maintaining resilient assets," explains the spokesperson.

As a specialist class of business, the deployed hardware in this sector evolves rapidly and requires underwriters to be on the cutting edge of the new technology to understand emerging risks and underwrite them thoroughly.

The spokesperson says kWh Analytics has broad relationships within the industry through research groups, testing laboratories, manufacturers and others to stay informed and collaborate on risk assessment/considerations and operational best practices. 

Looking forward, the spokesperson adds the strong partnership between kWh Analytics and Aspen has led to discussions about further expansion.

As for market demand for the solution, the spokesperson says Aspen and kWH Analytics have been able "to start a great relationship with the broker community" and bring them insights to share with asset owners.

To see other winners of the 2023 Climate Risk and Sustainability awards, visit InsuranceERM