Aviva will expand its engineering, marine, construction and operational risks to cover renewables
Aviva is expanding its cover in renewable energies and the environmental sector.
From March, Aviva will expand its engineering, marine, construction and operational risks cover for onshore wind, solar and energy from waste power generation, including biomass energy production, environmental consultancy and building technologies.
A range of covers are now available to suit the diverse and broad nature of this sector, with potential policyholders ranging from small companies using a single solar panel to national onshore wind farms.
Yawar Choudhry, commercial product consultant at Aviva, said: “The environmental goods and services sector is worth £107bn in the UK1, and involves over 55,000 businesses across sectors such as construction, manufacturing, design, architecture and consultancy. It is much larger and has greater economic and employment impact than is generally recognised.
“As incentives to lower emissions develop, the sector is forecast to increase in value by up to £45bn by 20151. Aviva has the capability to support the increased focus in the UK on harnessing renewable energy, lowering carbon emissions and achieving compliance with environmental regulations.
“For example, a landowner under a traditional commercial policy may decide to install a wind turbine on his property to sell energy to the electricity grid. Aviva can now cover every aspect of the project, from marine transit if the wind turbine is imported from abroad, through to construction and operation once the turbine is built.”
Cover is also available for those working in environmental consultancy, in areas such as land remediation, geological surveying, pollution control and environmental monitoring.
As local councils tighten environmental regulations on building technologies, brokers may find this cover will be increasingly relevant for designers and architects, and specialist window and door manufacturers and installers.
Public liability cover will now include failure to supply power (up to £1m), and cover for any reduction in the value of property (up to £1m) due to exposure of electromagnetic radiation or electromagnetic fields.
Professional indemnity cover is also available for environmental consultants, up to the value of £5m.
Choudhry added: “Aviva can now offer a range of covers for businesses working in the environmental goods and services sector. This saves brokers the administrative burden of placing multiple policies with more than one insurer.”
