QBE Insurance Malaysia has partnered with Solarvest Holdings and insurance agency Anora to provide insurance for solar photovoltaic energy projects.
In an agreement signed on Thursday, Solarvest will be able to provide its solar PV investors with the SolarPro Line-Stoppage insurance product, a comprehensive general liability policy with consequential loss cover, underwritten by QBE Malaysia through Anora.
“This collaboration is another positive step for Solarvest as we will be the first solar company in Malaysia to offer the SolarPro Line-Stoppage insurance policy, enhancing our already comprehensive one-stop solar solution services,” said Davis Chong, executive director and group CEO of Solarvest. “With this in place, we believe it will strengthen the value proposition of our engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning work, and help us in further building our formidable unbilled order book of over MYR600 million (SG$192.6 million).”
The SolarPro product was developed in response to the liberalisation of solar power distribution in Malaysia and the subsequent influx of power purchase agreements, QBE said. These new regulations mean that PV investors can install PV systems and sell energy directly to private entities, which usually entails the installation of PV systems on the energy buyer’s properties.
The product fills a gap in ordinary comprehensive general liability policies, which do not cover consequential loss. These losses include accidents or damages to the property during and after the installation and construction of the PV system.
Chong said that the availability of cover will reduce the risk of solar PV system investments, encouraging more investors to enter the solar industry and enabling higher adoption of solar energy.
“The typical length of a power purchase agreement is 21 years, which means that solar PV investors face a real risk of claims from energy buyers for consequential losses – an area where existing policies currently do not offer protection against,” said Samuel Soon, CEO of Anora. “We saw how this partnership could bridge this gap in the market and offer more specific support to clients in this space, and we are eager to see more solar-related investments take form with this added assurance.”
