Solar installations
Geothermal probes and heat pumps
Why should you insure your solar installation?
Energy efficiency is important to you. Photovoltaic systems and solar thermal installations are not only an investment in the future, but also a financial investment. As the operator of a solar system, you can protect yourself from financial losses caused by damage, loss of earnings and additional costs.$
What do we insure?
- Damage resulting from external causes: storm and hail damage, failure of measuring, control or safety equipment, crashing/falling, animals chewing threw cables, vandalism.
- Damage resulting from internal causes: material and construction defects, damages resulting from short-circuits, human error such as operating errors, clumsiness, data loss.
- Insurance covers the new replacement value for modules/collectors during the first ten years of operation.
- Zurich covers any loss of earnings from photovoltaic systems (loss of feed-in remuneration when equipment fails) and the additional costs of solar thermal installations (for the provisional supply of heat).
- Also included is precautionary cover for new acquisitions, new locations and expansions up to 20% of the sum insured and a maximum of 20,000 Swiss francs.
- Supplementary insurance models are also available for damage caused by natural hazards and fire (where not mandated in the buildings insurance) and theft (optional four years' replacement value cover available for all components excluding modules or collectors.)
Good to know
The Solar Installation Insurance also pays compensation if you lose out on feed-in remuneration due to fire or hail damage (fire/natural hazards), if you have already insured these losses through another insurance policy that does not include this loss of earnings.
Why insure geothermal probes or heat pumps?
You have chosen an energy efficient system for harnessing geothermal heat. Geothermal probes and heat pumps are an investment in a low-energy future. As the operator of such an installation, you can also protect yourself from financial losses caused by damage, lost earnings and additional costs.
What do we insure?
We insure heat pumps with drive, including electronic measuring, control and adjustment units, pipelines within the heat pump circuit, water storage, heat exchanger, heat transfer medium with storage and/or geothermal heat exchangers.
For geothermal probes at a maximum drilling depth of 400 meters, we insure the heat exchanger, geothermal baskets, energy piles and heat transfer medium.
What types of damage are insured?
- Damage resulting from external causes such as hail, storms, geological changes, collapse/falling and animal damage.
- Damage resulting from internal causes such as material or construction defects, short-circuits, human error, storm damage, failure of measuring, control or safety equipment and data loss are covered.
- The replacement value of geothermal heat exchangers is covered during the first 20 years of operation
- Zurich also assumes the additional costs for replacement systems in the event of a system failure.
- Also included is precautionary cover for new acquisitions, new locations and expansions up to 20% of the sum insured and a maximum of 20,000 Swiss francs.
The following options are also available
- Cover against fire and natural hazards (where not mandated in the buildings insurance)
- Theft insurance
- Four years' replacement value cover is available for all components excluding geothermal heat exchangers
Things to consider
The systems and installations insured must have been constructed according to recognized engineering and building standards. Drilling companies, for example, must at least possess the FWS quality seal for geothermal probe drilling companies. Planning, installation, testing and acceptance of geothermal heat exchangers must be carried out in accordance with SIA 384/6 at a minimum.
