Sustainable energy solutions

Sustainable energy sources play a crucial role in reducing CO₂ emissions and securing future energy supplies. Given our strategic focus on climate change, we are keen to support energy generation from renewable sources. But as sustainable energy projects increase in scale and complexity, so do the risks associated with them. However, innovative risk transfer solutions can help reduce these risks and drive investment in the sector.

We offer a range of re/insurance solutions to manage the risks of different kinds of renewable energy projects. At the end of 2018, we were providing risk cover to more than 3 300 wind and solar farms.

Offshore wind is considered one of the most promising renewable energy sources. But like renewable energy in general, it presents very complex risks. Unlike traditional lines, there is no long loss history to refer to. Underwriting such risks is therefore challenging from an insurance perspective.

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions takes a special interest in offshore wind as it has both the large capacity and the technical expertise to help manage the associated risks. We are continually enhancing our understanding of these risks and share our insights with our clients as well as other insurers. As an initiator and cofounder of the European Wind Turbine Committee established in 2009, we were instrumental in launching the Offshore Code of Practice (OCoP), a best-practice guide for risk management in the sector. Mirroring these efforts, we are now considered a lead market for offshore wind risks. In the last five years, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions has participated in numerous offshore wind projects, including wind farms, stand-alone offshore sub-stations and stand-alone export cables.

In 2018, we were involved in a number of new offshore wind farm projects, some of which illustrate new trends in the sector: accelerated development in Asia and the advent of floating technology.