Insurer appetite for renewable energy risk is at its strongest in nearly a decade. Rates are falling sharply, but the underwriting behind those deals is becoming far more demanding. That is the central finding of the Renewable Energy Market Review, published on 17 June 2026 by Willis, a WTW business, drawing on analysis across more than a dozen regions and specialty segments.
Pricing reductions of between 20% and 30% are available for Tier 1 risks - well-engineered accounts with large premium income. Tier 2 risks are seeing reductions of up to 10% to 15%, while loss-affected programmes face renewal terms tied directly to the scale of the loss. Combined ratios held at a sub-90% average across the market, further softening is expected quarter by quarter through 2026, and insurers are reviving low claims bonuses collected upfront at inception. Long-term agreements offer discounts of between 5% and 10% for year two.
A majority of insurer portfolios carry approximately a 50% weighting toward US risks, and many are now looking to diversify internationally as domestic competition intensifies. George Fine at McGill and Partners described insurer appetite as stronger than it has been in seven or eight years, with double-digit rate reductions now common across well-structured accounts.
The report identifies geopolitical pressure on energy security as a key driver reshaping corporate risk profiles. Accelerating deployment timelines are deepening reliance on Chinese suppliers, which dominate original equipment manufacturing in solar and battery technologies. For insurers, that concentration creates recovery timeline exposure and raises questions about limit adequacy across complex programmes.
Rob Hale, global power and renewable energy leader at Willis Natural Resources, said risk is shifting from isolated component failures to systemic dependency risks. "There is a clear need for companies to map and manage recovery timelines, contingency planning, as well as the alignment between procurement, contracts and insurance structures," he said.
Hale said the next phase of underwriting will be defined less by price and more by information quality. "Competitive advantage is shifting towards renewable energy projects that can demonstrate strong engineering standards, robust maintenance practices and credible, data-driven risk insights," he said.
Solar and battery storage are projected to make up roughly 81% of new US utility-scale generating capacity in 2025, according to the US Energy Information Administration, which expects 32.5 GW of solar and 18 GW of battery storage to come online that year. Large-scale BESS construction is expected to accelerate across North America, Europe and the Middle East, with solar project activity forecast to grow in North America, the Middle East and Asia.
That growth comes with technical caveats. Fire risk, particularly thermal runaway, continues to influence insurer appetite for BESS projects. Battery design and risk engineering have improved, but concerns remain. Lifecycle and decommissioning risks are also drawing closer scrutiny - BESS projects typically run between 10 and 15 years, a duration that creates long-tail exposure for insurers committing capacity today and that requires careful alignment between policy terms and projected asset performance over the full project life.
For emerging technologies including green hydrogen, next-generation geothermal and space-based solar, the report concludes that insurance is shifting from a transactional requirement to a strategic enabler, with early integration of risk engineering and credible performance data increasingly required before insurers commit capacity.
That shift is playing out against a backdrop of sustained loss pressure across the broader energy market. Downstream energy losses totalled US$6.8 billion in 2025, with net losses estimated at US$4 billion to US$4.5 billion - yet pricing continued to fall, a disconnect Willis attributed to broader capital oversupply across the industry.
The report's central message is clear: the market rewards preparation. Projects with strong engineering credentials, credible data and well-structured insurance programmes are capturing the deepest discounts. Those without face a harder conversation at renewal.
