Solar panels particles (2)

The number of solar panels in our country is increasing rapidly. And with that also the chance that the panels will become involved in a fire, so that the particles can spread in the environment. A new risk, also for insurers. After all, who cleans up the particles? Who is responsible? And what about the clean-up costs? Are they covered?

In this second part of our series on Solar Panel Particles, Rob van Kal (Nationale-Nederlanden) discusses the legal framework and definitions. What is the difference between clean-up and remediation? To what extent are solar panel particles polluting? And what are possible solutions?

Clean-up costs

During the webinar that the Association organized last month, Van Kal takes the viewer along in the three concepts that he encounters most often when cleaning up solar panel particles: clean-up costs, remediation costs and pollution. The clean-up costs are often additionally insured on, for example, a Building Insurance, but that additional coverage is often limited to only the 'bare' clean-up costs, he emphasizes.
For example, a customer can only have insured the clean-up costs, but no other costs and damages, including research costs or property and business damage. It is also possible that only the clean-up costs at his own location or those of his immediate neighbors are insured. "There are known examples where the solar panel particles ended up miles away. So it can be a consideration to insure the clean-up costs a bit more broadly," says Van Kal.

"There are known examples where the solar panels particles ended up miles away"

Remediation (costs)

Van Kal chooses the example of building insurance not entirely by chance. Solar panels are often on (agricultural) buildings and sometimes a maximum of ten percent of the insured sum is covered for the clean-up. "Suppose a building is insured for four tons and there are two tons of solar panels on the roof. Then the rebuilding value is six tons and the clean-up costs may be co-insured for a maximum of 60,000 euros," explains Van Kal.
The second concept, remediation, in practice simply comes down to 'cleaning up a contamination'. "A special clean-up, which is covered as standard on the Environmental Damage Insurance (MSV)", he concludes.

Pollution

One of the most important features of that MSV is that the substance to be cleaned up must always have a polluting character. "And although there is still a lot of discussion about the polluting nature of solar panels particles, our thesis is that they do not yet have a polluting effect," says Van Kal.
He emphasizes that this statement will always remain debatable, especially if other types / materials appear in the future, but for the time being there is no question of contamination within the meaning of the law and of the MSV. "The current measure of pollution ('the presence of a substance in a concentration where an environmental standard is exceeded') is set by the government and as long as no standard is exceeded, there is no pollution in the spread of solar panel particles."

Liability insurance

The question arises during Van Kal's presentation: does the liability insurance offer a solution for the customer if the damage caused by solar panel particles does not fall under the coverage of the MSV? "Liability insurance does indeed cover cleanup costs, property and business interruption," van Kal replies. "There is also often an exclusion for claims related to environmental damage. So you would say: fine, we have a solution here. But the 'problem' of liability insurance is that there must also be liability and that is not always the case with the solar panel particles. In other words, a civil law route must always be followed first in order to get an answer. This raises so many question marks that I wonder whether it is conducive to decisive intervention and to limit social unrest as much as possible."

"Solar panels particles do not yet have a polluting effect"

Environmental damage insurance

In Van Kal's view, two insurance policies remain that can offer a solution: the Building (or building) and the MSV. "The building insurance because of the non-polluting nature of the solar panels particles and the MSV, because this standard already provides a number of coverages that go beyond just tidying up." However, there are a number of points of attention that both insurers and customers must take into account. One of the most important things about building or home insurance is to know whether the solar panels (and therefore also the cleaning costs) are (co-)insured if the owner of the building and of the panels is not the same. And with the MSV, an important point of attention is whether the solar panels are specifically mentioned in the policy conditions, because they do not fall within the definition of contamination and are therefore not co-insured as standard."

Ten percent

To the final question from one of the participants in the webinar whether ten percent of the insured sum on the Building Insurance is sufficient to be able to pay the clean-up costs, Van Kal replied: "I do not dare to say that. If I look at the practical examples of recent years, this seems to be the case for 'bare' clearance. The average sum of an MSV is quickly between five tons and a million. If that is sufficient for cleaning up asbestos, then that should also be enough for the solar panel particles. But the honest answer is that experience will have to show that.

Sample definitions
The definitions of Pollution, Cleanup and Remediation Costs come in many shapes and sizes. Reason for the Working Group Solar Panels Particles to look into new example definitions. According to Van Kal, not much has changed in either the definition of Pollution or Remediation Costs , "simply because not much has changed".
This is different with the definition of Clearance costs , because an insurer must first make clear what it means by clean-up costs. In a general sense, this amounts to 'the costs of dismantling, disposing of, disposing of, dumping and destroying insured goods and/or parts thereof, as a necessary consequence of a covered event under this insurance'.

Insurers who are interested in the various definitions can contact Marieke Beugel.
In the third - and final - part of the series on Solar Panels Particles, Geerlof van Loo elaborates on the role of the Salvage Foundation, which provides first aid on behalf of insurers. Missed the first part? Click here!