Businesses with commercial rooftop solar, battery storage or other renewable systems have property, equipment, liability and interruption exposures. Mercantile arranges insurance reviews for commercial system owners and operators across Australia.

Commercial renewable energy property and operations insurance

This page is intended for businesses operating energy systems for their own commercial premises or supplying power within a commercial operation. Examples include warehouses, offices, retail and hospitality premises, industrial businesses, agricultural businesses and community facilities. Our primary focus is commercial-scale systems rather than utility-scale power generation.

Property and operational details to consider

• Ownership, lease or finance arrangements for panels, batteries and inverters
• System location, roof construction and surrounding operations
• Installed values, machinery breakdown and replacement lead times
• Fire protection, electrical inspection and maintenance information
• Revenue or operational dependence on the system
• Contractors responsible for installation and ongoing maintenance

Cover options we can discuss

Property and business interruption for insured assets and covered interruption scenarios; machinery breakdown where available; public liability for premises or operations exposures; and contract works while an installation or upgrade is underway. Cyber and management liability may also be relevant for businesses operating connected systems or employing staff.

Insurers assess construction, protection, maintenance, system values, roof details and the wider property risk. Business interruption depends on the insured event, policy basis, indemnity period, limits and exclusions. A policy’s treatment of rooftop or battery equipment must be checked against its wording and schedule.

Questions from commercial system owners

Are rooftop panels automatically included in building insurance?

Do not assume so. The policy schedule, asset ownership and insurer’s acceptance should be checked, including how panels, inverters and batteries are described.

Can business interruption cover lost solar generation?

Some policies may consider insured interruption exposures, subject to the wording and underwriting. The cover trigger and calculation basis need to be clear in the policy.

Can an existing property programme be reviewed?

Yes. Consider how the system is declared alongside the property schedule and related business interruption cover.

Arrange a review

Share the site address, system values, installation date, ownership details, building information, maintenance arrangements and current property policy. We can identify what insurers need to assess.