REIB’s insurance products make solar projects more bankable

Renewable Energy Insurance Broker (REIB) is an international insurance broker established in 2011 and specialised in solar insurance. REIB has insured photovoltaic plants with more than 2GWp on four continents. Delyan Iliev is Managing Director of the company. Based on the experience of their employees from the offices in Sofia, New York and Berlin REIB is able to provide tailor-made insurance solutions globally. Their clients are part of each solar project phase – developers, investors, asset management companies, EPC/O&M contractors. REIB is a member of various associations that support sustainable business activities like Solar Power Europe, the Association for production, storage and trading of electricity (APSTE), Polish Photovoltaic Association, etc.

Mr. Iliev, REIB is focused on renewable assets, can you outline what are the specifics of insuring such assets in comparison to others?

Everyone who is supporting and gravitating around the PV industry like banks, lawyers, accountants, contractors, developers, knows very well the specific needs of the sector. The insurance business is part of the game as well. PV projects have their really specific terms and conditions – the solar power plant has to be insured during the period when the installation is completed, but still not connected to the grid; higher insurance amount for Delay in Start Up during Erection All Risks (EAR) insurance compared to every other asset; market adjustable insurance sums; Loss of Income instead of Loss of Profit; defect cover, etc. All of the above mentioned specifics differentiate the solar power plants from all other insurable assets.

REIB is active on four continents. Would you say renewables insurance is as popular in Bulgaria and Southeast Europe as in other part of the world?

Of course, it is. Insurance is a significant part of each renewable energy project globally. No matter of the stage of the project - during construction or operational phase, insurance policy is a must. The only exemption are small PV installations (under 1 MWp) where some of the investors may not require an EAR policy from their EPC contractor.

In Central and Eastern Europe most of the investors who invest in large scale solar projects usually hire an independent insurance advisor to review all active insurance policies required by the EPC contract. Some of our policies for PV plants with capacity of 154MWP, 124 MWp, 165MWp, 86MWp, 51MWp located in Central and Eastern Europe are reviewed by such advisors.

Earlier this year you launched a new product focused on hedging against reduced yields. Can you tell us about it?

Yes, together with our partners from Colonnade Insurance S.A. we prepared a tailor-made solar insurance product which guarantees the performance (P50) of each new solar power plant. What does it mean for the insurer to guarantee the performance? It means that if the actual produced energy is less than 10% of the prognosticated one (P50 according PV Syst or PVGIS report) than the insurance company will compensate the investor. This is a significant guarantees solution for banks, leasing companies and investment funds – the cash flow of the project is secured.

As an addition I should mention that our product has another advantage – we cover Loss of Income instead of Loss of Profit. Every financier knows very well the big difference between income and profit. Based on this, our clients always receive higher business interruption compensation compared to the rest of the players on the market.

The new insurance product launched by REIB and Colonnade Insurance S.A. in Central and Eastern Europe reduces the risk for banks and other financial institutions and, as a benefit, the clients may receive competitive interest rates and conditions for their projects.

Moreover, all solar projects insured by Renewable Energy Insurance Broker with our special insurance products become more bankable.

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