What Insurance Does a Solar Installation Business Need?
Solar installation carries risks that most standard trades insurance doesn’t adequately cover. You’re working at height, installing high-value electrical systems, and providing energy production equipment with a 25-year lifespan. Getting insurance wrong – or having the wrong cover when something goes wrong – is a serious business risk.
Here’s exactly what insurance a solar installation business needs.
The Essential Covers
1. Public Liability Insurance
Non-negotiable. Required for MCS certification.
Covers injury to third parties and damage to third-party property caused by your business activities.
Key considerations for solar installers: – Working at height – ensure the policy explicitly covers working on roofs. Some standard public liability policies exclude working above a certain height. Check the exclusions carefully. – Minimum limit: £2m. For commercial work, £5m is standard and often required. – Product liability – public liability typically includes product liability, covering damage caused by goods you supply and install. Check this is explicitly included.
What it covers (examples): – You drop a panel from a roof and damage the customer’s car – covered – Scaffold collapses and injures a passerby – covered – Installed panels cause a roof leak that damages the interior – covered (subject to policy terms)
Typical annual cost: £400-800 for a sole trader, £800-1,500+ for a company with employees.
2. Professional Indemnity Insurance
Required for MCS certification. Essential for any design-related work.
Covers claims arising from errors or omissions in your professional advice, designs, or specifications.
Solar installers give professional advice regularly: – System sizing recommendations – Shading analysis and yield predictions – SEG earnings estimates – Battery sizing recommendations
If a customer claims your system underperforms significantly because of a design error, professional indemnity covers your defence costs and any damages.
Minimum recommended: £1m. £2m for larger residential or commercial work.
Typical annual cost: £300-700 for a small solar business.
3. Employers Liability Insurance
Legally required if you employ anyone.
Under the Employers Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, you must have employers liability insurance if you employ anyone – including temporary staff, apprentices, and in many cases labour-only subcontractors.
Minimum cover: £5m (though most policies provide £10m+).
You must display your EL certificate (physically or digitally) at each workplace.
Typical annual cost: £300-800 depending on payroll and risk profile.
4. Tools and Equipment Insurance
Strongly recommended.
Solar installation equipment – inverters, mounting systems, cable, meters, tools – has significant replacement value. Theft from a van overnight is the most common claim.
Ensure cover includes: – Tools in transit and overnight in a locked vehicle – Hired-in equipment if you hire scaffold or specialist tools – Replacement rather than indemnity value
Typical annual cost: £200-500.
5. Contract Works / All-Risks Insurance
Recommended for larger commercial projects.
Covers partially-completed work and materials on site against damage, theft, or loss before handover. Particularly relevant for: – Multi-day commercial solar installations – Jobs where materials are delivered and stored on site before installation
Typical annual cost: £200-500 for residential-scale work.
Solar-Specific Considerations
Product liability in the context of solar: Solar systems have a 25-year lifespan. A fire caused by a faulty installation 5 years from now is still your liability if it arose from your workmanship. Ensure your public liability policy has no sunset clause that would remove cover for older installations.
Export limitation and grid connection: If your system design causes grid stability issues or incorrect connection, you may face claims from the DNO or other parties. Professional indemnity and public liability working together are the protection here.
Scaffold subcontractor liability: If you subcontract scaffolding, the scaffolding company should have their own public liability. Get a copy of their certificate before every job. If their scaffold fails and injures someone, their insurance should respond first – but you may also face a claim as the principal contractor.
Where to Get Solar Installer Insurance
Specialist insurance brokers for the renewables sector include:
- Kingsbridge Contractor Insurance – specialist in contractor insurance
- NICEIC Insurance – linked to NICEIC membership
- NAPIT Insurance – linked to NAPIT membership
- Towergate Insurance – specialist trades broker
- Simply Business – comparison platform for trades insurance
MCS certification bodies often have preferred insurance partners – worth asking your certification body for their recommendation.
Conclusion
The right insurance is not a box-ticking exercise – it is the foundation that allows you to work with confidence. The cost of proper cover is modest relative to the protection it provides. Review your policies annually as your business grows and your risk profile changes. For further guidance, visit British Insurance Brokers’ Association.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does standard electrician insurance cover solar installation?
Not always. Solar installation involves working at height (which some policies exclude) and specific product/professional risks not present in standard domestic electrical work. Always confirm that your policy explicitly covers solar PV installation before starting solar work.Do I need separate insurance for battery storage installation?
Not typically – battery storage should fall within the scope of an existing solar or electrical installer policy. Confirm this explicitly with your insurer. Battery systems carry specific risks (fire, chemical hazard) that should be addressed in the policy.What insurance do I need for commercial solar installations?
Commercial projects typically require higher public liability limits (£5-10m), professional indemnity (£2-5m), contract works insurance, and potentially performance bonds or parent company guarantees for larger contracts. Check the specific requirements in the tender documents.Is personal accident insurance worth having for solar installers?
Yes. If you’re injured on a roof and can’t work, personal accident and income protection insurance covers your earnings during recovery. As a self-employed person, you have no sick pay – income protection fills that gap.Related reading:
