What Is Solar Plant Insurance?
A solar plant policy in Türkiye is not one wording. It is assembled from the fire, machinery breakdown and electronic equipment general conditions, and the differences between them decide what gets paid.
Which Wordings Is a Solar Policy Built On?
Solar plant insurance covers the physical damage exposure of panels, inverters, the transformer, mounting structures and site equipment. Whether you run a rooftop array above your own workshop or a ground-mounted plant, the question is the same: what happens when a panel breaks or an inverter burns out?
In Türkiye every policy is written on top of the statutory general conditions (genel şartlar) published by SEDDK, the Insurance and Private Pension Regulation and Supervision Authority. SEDDK's index of general conditions contains no wording dedicated to solar plants. A solar policy is therefore assembled from existing wordings plus special conditions and clauses.
Three texts do most of the work: the Fire Insurance General Conditions (in force since 1 January 1993), the Machinery Breakdown General Conditions (25 February 1967) and the Electronic Equipment General Conditions. During construction a fourth text applies, the Erection All Risks (Montaj Sigortaları) General Conditions. Saying “the plant is insured” therefore settles nothing; the useful question is which wording and which clause.
Are Panels, Inverters and Transformers on the Same Cover?
Article 1 of the Machinery Breakdown General Conditions grants cover for the machinery listed in the inventory schedule attached to the policy. Named causes include operating accidents, defects in design, manufacture, assembly, material and workmanship, short circuit and overvoltage, indirect effects of atmospheric electricity, storm and hurricane, and negligence or sabotage by staff or third parties.
Article 3 of the same wording narrows it sharply: the direct effects of fire and lightning, theft, earthquake, flood and inundation, landslide, ordinary wear and tear, and any loss of profit or legal liability fall outside cover.
Article 1 of the Electronic Equipment General Conditions reads almost as the mirror image. Fire, lightning and explosion, theft and attempted theft, short circuit and high voltage, and natural perils other than earthquake — storm, flood, inundation, landslide — are inside that cover.
So the wording a given item is written under decides which cause is paid. Panels, mounting structure, inverters, transformer and the monitoring system should each appear separately on the policy inventory schedule.
| Cause of Loss | Fire General Conditions | Machinery Breakdown | Electronic Equipment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire, lightning, explosion | Covered (A.1) | Excluded (Art. 3/d) | Covered (Art. 1/e) |
| Short circuit or overvoltage without fire | Excluded (A.4.6) | Covered (Art. 1/d) | Covered (Art. 1/d) |
| Storm | By extension (A.3.2.4) | Covered (Art. 1/j) | Covered (Art. 1/g) |
| Flood and inundation | By extension (A.3.2.2) | Excluded (Art. 3/g) | Covered (Art. 1/g) |
| Earthquake | By extension (A.3.1.3) | Excluded (Art. 3/g) | Excluded unless agreed (Art. 2/c) |
| Theft | Separate wording applies | Excluded (Art. 3/f) | Covered (Art. 1/b) |
| Loss of profit, production standstill | Separate wording applies | Excluded (Art. 3/e) | Excluded (Art. 3/d) |
| Hail | Not named in the extension list | Not named in Art. 1 | Not named in Art. 1 |
Is Hail Actually Named in Your Policy?
Hail is the weather event most likely to crack panel glass, yet none of the three wordings names it. The extension list in article A.3 of the Fire General Conditions runs through snow load, flood and inundation, landslide, storm, internal water damage, smoke, vehicle impact and malicious acts. Hail is not a separate heading there.
Article 1 of the Machinery Breakdown wording names “storm and hurricane” but not hail. The Electronic Equipment wording uses the phrase “natural perils such as storm, flood, inundation, landslide and subsidence, excluding earthquake”.
The conclusion is straightforward: hail enters a solar policy only through a special condition or a clause. It is one of the first lines we check when comparing quotations. Ask one question — is hail written by name, and what deductible and limit apply to it? If it is not written, you will be arguing about it after the storm.
Why Are Construction and Operation Two Separate Policies?
Both the Machinery Breakdown and the Electronic Equipment wordings start cover once the equipment is “in normal working order after the test period”. Damage that happens while panels are being lifted, structures bolted or cables pulled is therefore outside those policies.
The construction phase belongs to the Erection All Risks General Conditions, and site civil works to the Contractors' All Risks (İnşaat Sigortası — Bütün Riskler) General Conditions. The handover point is the end of the test period.
The most common gap appears exactly here: the erection policy has expired and the operating policy has not yet incepted. A loss in those days falls between both. This is why the commissioning date has to be pinned down at quotation stage.
Is Lost Revenue Covered When Generation Stops?
Article 3(e) of the Machinery Breakdown General Conditions excludes “any loss of profit or legal liability, however caused”. Article 3(d) of the Electronic Equipment wording reaches the same result.
In practice: the replacement cost of the broken panel is payable, but the revenue lost while the plant is not generating is not payable by itself. Business interruption is a separate cover with its own general conditions in the SEDDK index.
Note that the same articles also exclude legal liability. A panel blowing off a roof onto a neighbour's car is not a property claim; it belongs to liability insurance.
What Information Does a Quotation Need?
Article 4 of the Machinery Breakdown General Conditions defines the sum insured as the new replacement value, including freight, erection, customs duty, taxes and charges. If the sum insured is understated, the shortfall stays with the insured proportionally at claim time. That single line on the proposal form is the most consequential one in the whole policy.
To prepare a quotation we need:
- Installed capacity and number of panels
- Rooftop or ground-mounted, and the roof type if rooftop
- Make, model and new replacement value of panels, inverters, transformer and mounting system
- Commissioning date and whether the test period is complete
- Extensions requested: hail, snow load, flood, earthquake, theft, business interruption
- Site security, perimeter fencing and remote monitoring
- Any financing arrangement and loss payee details
Where Do We Come In as an Agency?
RYL Sigorta Aracılık Hizmetleri Limited Şirketi is an insurance agency. We do not issue the policy and we do not carry the risk. We prepare quotations from the insurers we act for and set the wordings and clauses side by side so the difference becomes visible. Claims are paid by the insurance company that is party to the contract.
In engineering insurance the difference between two quotations usually hides in a single line: is hail there, is business interruption there, is the sum insured written on new replacement value. Send us the plant details and we will run the comparison with you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is solar plant insurance compulsory in Türkiye?
Turkish insurance legislation defines no compulsory class specific to solar generation, and SEDDK's index of general conditions contains no solar-specific wording. Where the investment is debt financed, however, the loan agreement may require cover to be placed.
Is hail damage paid automatically?
No. Hail is not a named peril in the fire, machinery breakdown or electronic equipment general conditions. It enters the policy only through a special condition or clause, with its own deductible stated in the policy.
Will my lost generation revenue be paid if a panel breaks?
Article 3(e) of the Machinery Breakdown General Conditions and article 3(d) of the Electronic Equipment General Conditions both exclude loss of profit however caused. Revenue lost during a standstill is payable only if a separate business interruption cover has been bought.
Which policy responds to damage during installation?
Operating policies start cover once equipment is in normal working order after the test period. The installation phase belongs to the Erection All Risks General Conditions and site civil works to the Contractors' All Risks General Conditions.
How should the sum insured be set?
Article 4 of the Machinery Breakdown General Conditions sets the sum insured equal to the new replacement value, including freight, erection, customs duty, taxes and charges. Understating it produces a proportional reduction at claim time.
Sources
- SEDDK — Index of Insurance General Conditions
- Fire Insurance General Conditions (SEDDK)
- Machinery Breakdown General Conditions (SEDDK)
- Electronic Equipment General Conditions (SEDDK)
This article is for information only; the scope of cover is set by the policy’s specific and general terms.
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