Aviva and Howden partner to insure innovative solar subscription service start-up

Person with solar panel
  • Sunsave aims to make solar energy accessible to all UK households and is the first of its kind in the UK
  • Aviva and Howden partnership aims to support innovation within renewables space and links to wider Net Zero ambitions

Aviva and Howden have teamed up to provide bespoke insurance to an innovative start-up, which offers homeowners solar panels on a subscription service. The insurer and broker worked together with Sunsave to create a bespoke construction and operation cover policy for the solar energy subscription service, which provides solar batteries and panels using a regular payment plan.

The policy for Sunsave, the UK’s first solar subscription, went live in February, with the first solar panel installation now completed. The bespoke insurance policy is designed to accommodate the unique nature of Sunsave’s business, with customer subscription fees covered in the event of solar panel damage. In addition, to accommodate the expected take-up, Aviva agreed to streamline the process around new installations.

This move links to the goals of both Aviva and Howden, which are both keen to support the UK’s transition to green and renewable energy through insurance, risk management solutions and advice.  

Aviva is continuing to work with customers on climate actions and to provide insurance and risk management solutions to those firms that are actively taking steps to move away from high carbon fuels. In 2019, Aviva launched an integrated package of insurance designed specifically to support large companies in the complex market of renewable energy, including onshore windfarms, solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage. Aviva’s renewable energy portfolio is now more than 400% of the size of the fossil fuel power generation book it exited in 2019.

Howden’s Power & Renewable Energy team manages the insurances of over 280 gigawatts of power assets worldwide and has more than 100 gigawatts of renewable energy projects under management. This portfolio is spread across onshore and offshore wind, solar photovoltaic (PV) / concentrated solar power (CSP), battery energy storage, biomass, geothermal and hydropower, helping clients develop projects and managing a rapidly growing portfolio spread across the globe.

By taking steps now to minimise our environmental impacts, collectively we can get ready for the future. We all have an important role to play in supporting the transition to Net Zero and bespoke policies like this can help to encourage environmentally friendly ideas to become reality. 

Nick Evans, Deputy Head of Renewable Energy at Aviva, said: “As a leading insurer, we regularly see the impacts of climate change on our customers and communities, for example, through weather events such as flooding or subsidence. By taking steps now to minimise our environmental impacts, collectively we can get ready for the future.

“We all have an important role to play in supporting the transition to Net Zero and bespoke policies like this can help to encourage environmentally friendly ideas to become reality. By working closely with both Sunsave and Howden, we’re supporting the accessibility and affordability of renewable electricity for households. I’m really pleased that Aviva continues to play a leading role in the renewables space and I look forward to seeing the impact of this and future partnerships.”  

Deborah Duss, Global Head of Renewable Energy, Howden, said: “Howden is proud to have partnered with Aviva to deliver an effective insurance product that gives Sunsave insurance customers peace of mind in the event the solar and battery systems are damaged. Insurance has a crucial role to play in enabling the energy transition to be successful, and we will continue to work with clients and markets globally to innovate and support growth in the renewable energy sector.”

Ben Graves, Co-Founder at Sunsave, added: “We are delighted to have worked with Aviva and Howden to put in place an innovative insurance cover enabling us to launch the UK’s first solar subscription service. This cover provides peace of mind for our customers and marks another important milestone in bringing the power of solar to all households across the UK.”

More information on Aviva’s renewable energy insurance is available here: Renewable energy insurance - Aviva.

More information about Sunsave can be found here: https://www.sunsave.energy/.

-ends-

Claire Jermany

General Insurance⁠ — Commercial Lines, Community, Heritage

Enquiries:

About Howden

Howden is a leading global insurance intermediary group with employee ownership at its heart. Founded in 1994, it operates in 50 countries across Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, the USA, Australia, and New Zealand, employing 16,000 people and handling $38bn of premium on behalf of clients. For more information, please visit www.howdengroupholdings.com.

Notes to editors:

  • We are the UK's leading diversified insurer and we operate in the UK, Ireland and Canada. We also have international investments in India and China.
  • We help our 19.6 million (as at 31 August 2024) customers make the most out of life, plan for the future, and have the confidence that if things go wrong we’ll be there to put it right.
  • We have been taking care of people for more than 325 years, in line with our purpose of being ‘with you today, for a better tomorrow’. In 2023, we paid £25.6 billion in claims and benefits to our customers.
  • In 2021, we announced our ambition to become Net Zero by 2040, the first major insurance company in the world to do so. We are aiming to have Net Zero carbon emissions from Aviva’s operations and supply chain by 2030. While we are working towards our sustainability ambitions, we recognise that while we have control over Aviva’s operations and influence on our supply chain, when it comes to decarbonising the economy in which we operate and invest, Aviva is one part of a far larger global ecosystem. There are also limits to our ability to influence other organisations and governments. Nevertheless, we remain focused on the task and are committed to playing our part in the collective effort to enable the global transition. Find out more about our climate goals at at www.aviva.com/sustainability/climate and our sustainability ambition and action at www.aviva.com/sustainability.
  • Aviva is a Living Wage, Living Pension and Living Hours employer and provides market-leading benefits for our people, including flexible working, paid carers leave and equal parental leave. Find out more at https://www.aviva.com/about-us/our-people/
  • As at 30 June 2024, total Group assets under management at Aviva Group were £398 billion and our estimated Solvency II shareholder capital surplus as at 30 September 2024 was £7.6 billion. Our shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and we are a member of the FTSE 100 index.
  • For more details on what we do, our business and how we help our customers, visit www.aviva.com/about-us
  • The Aviva newsroom at www.aviva.com/newsroom includes links to our spokespeople images, podcasts, research reports and our news release archive. Sign up to get the latest news from Aviva by email.
  • You can follow us on:
  • For the latest corporate films from around our business, subscribe to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/aviva

      More from our Newsroom