Many homeowners are considering installing solar panels and heat pumps as a means of bringing down their bills and reducing their carbon footprints. You’ll find many resources online weighing up the pros and cons of such technology. In this post we’ll explore how solar panels and heat pumps might affect your home insurance.
At Anthony Jones we’ve been advising customers on their home insurance needs for decades. We’ll consider all of your individual requirements, such as whether you want to include cover for solar panels, heat pumps, or other new installations or renovations. For more information, call us on 0208 290 9086, or email personal@anthonyjones.com.
Should I Tell My Home Insurance About Installing Solar Panels?
If you’ve added solar panels to your home, or if you’re thinking of doing so, you should notify your home insurance provider as soon as possible. In most cases, the price of your policy will not increase. Many modern home insurance policies already offer cover for solar panels as standard.
Does Home Insurance Cover Solar Panels?
Most of our insurers consider solar panels to be part of the fabric of the building. This means they’ll typically cover damage as a result of fire, storm, water, subsidence, impact (such as from a falling tree), theft, or vandalism. But they will not necessarily cover you for accidental damage, or for wear and tear.
Do Solar Panels Affect Home Insurance?
Where solar panels might make a difference on your insurance is in your home rebuild costs. As solar panels are permanently attached to your roof, and as they can cost up to £10,000 to install, adding panels to your home can increase its value.
Because of this, installing solar panels, you may push your home into a higher price bracket. Some insurers base the price of their policies on the value of the property, as the higher the value of your home, the more it would cost to rebuild. This is one circumstance where solar panels might affect your home insurance.
For more information about how solar panel installations might affect your home’s rebuild cost, check out the resources from The Building Cost Information Service.
Please note that if you have a freestanding solar panel in your garden or on a balcony, it won’t be included in your buildings cover, as it won’t be part of the structure of your home.
What is Solar Panel Leasing?
Solar panel leasing arrangements and power purchase agreements allow installers to setup solar panels on your roof at a hugely reduced price, on the basis that they can sell any excess electricity back to the grid to cover their installation costs.
Solar Panel Leasing and Home Insurance
As to how such an arrangement might affect your home insurance, it all depends on the agreement you come to with the installer. Some installers offer insurance as part of their leasing package. But even then, it might raise some complications.
For example, if a panel breaks, who’s responsible for fixing it? If it’s you, will your insurance cover you for repairs? Also, who’ll be responsible for removing the solar panels if the roof needs repairing – you, or the installer?
Issues like these are more likely to concern potential mortgage lenders than they do your insurers. In any case, it’s best to call your home insurance provider and get clarity on these matters before you enter a leasing arrangement.
We can also advise you on how leasing solar panels might affect your home insurance. For more information, call us on 0208 290 9086, or email personal@anthonyjones.com.
Do Heat Pumps Affect Home Insurance?
The good news is that installing a heat pump may not affect the price of your home insurance policy. The bad news is that this is because many home insurers do not offer any sort of cover for heat pumps.
Does Home Insurance Cover Heat Pumps?
In April 2023, it emerged that many insurers are excluding heat pumps from their home breakdown cover policies. This means that homeowners may face considerable repair costs in the event of a breakdown.
Some insurance providers do cover heat pumps, but only if they meet certain conditions – for example, if they’re the main source of heating in the home. Some insurers may offer this cover as an optional extra, in the form of home emergency cover to pay for assistance in repairs if your home’s main source of heating fails. In this case, installing a heat pump could raise the price of your home insurance, as you’d have to take out additional cover for possible breakdowns.
Also, when it comes to gas boilers, most home insurance policies will pay for a replacement should a repair not be possible. But if a heat pump breaks down and cannot be fixed, your home insurance may not cover you for an alternative.
So if you’re planning getting a heat pump installation, it’s best to find out first just where your home insurance provider stands. If their cover for heat pumps is limited (or non-existent), then you might be better looking for a different provider.
At Anthony Jones, we specialise in supporting homeowners to find insurance that ticks every box at a fair price. So if your current provider won’t cover your heat pump, we can help you find the specialist, tailored cover you need. For more information, call us on 0208 290 9086, or email personal@anthonyjones.com.
