Climate change impacting insurability of renewables

Transition Economist talks to Andrew Slevin, CEO of John Foord, about the challenge of insuring renewable energy assets amid extreme weather

Floods, storms and searing heat made 2020 one of the worst years yet for bouts of extreme weather and climate disasters around the world. From scorching fires in Australia and California, to a record-breaking hurricane season over the Atlantic, extreme weather events impacted many parts of the world and were behind a claims surge for renewable energy assets entering this year. Rising insurance premiums for renewables is set to be one of the notable trends within the insurance industry’s underwriting of energy sector asset risk in the year ahead, according to global specialist valuation and appraisal practice John Foord, which values more than $100bn in assets annually—including in renewable