What plug-in solar means for your home insurance cover
Admiral says freestanding plug-in solar panels need not be reported to insurers, unlike wired systems. But its own guidance attaches conditions that still decide whether a claim involving one gets paid.
Since 27 August, any household in England, Scotland or Wales can plug a solar panel into a wall socket and start generating electricity, with no electrician needed to install it.
A product a customer does not have to mention to their insurer can still invalidate the cover they already have.
That change followed Ofgem’s own approval of an amendment to the Distribution Code, published 11 August, capping each device at 800 watts and limiting every household to one.
Admiral’s own guidance says a freestanding plug-in panel sits under contents cover, not buildings cover, and does not need to be reported to the insurer at all, unlike a permanently wired system, according to Admiral.
Here is the detail worth sitting with.
Not reporting a device is not the same as the insurer asking nothing of the customer. Admiral’s own page lists conditions in the same breath as the good news. No uncertified imported kits, no extension leads or multi-way adaptors, an electrician’s check that the house wiring suits the setup, and regular inspection of the panel and its cables.
It is the same logic as a landlord who says a tenant needs no permission to paint a wall, then keeps the deposit for using the wrong paint.
I would want a customer to read those four conditions before they plug anything in, not after a fire, a theft, or a claim that turns on whether an extension lead was involved. A policy that asks no questions up front can still ask every one of them afterwards, at the one moment a customer cannot afford a wrong answer.