Wind turbine insurance in Germany: machine, revenue and liability
For a community wind farm or a farmer, a wind turbine is usually the largest single investment, financed over many years and only paying off while it feeds power into the grid. A gearbox failure or a lightning strike costs the repair and weeks without income. German wind cover therefore combines three parts: the turbine itself, loss of revenue and the operator's liability.
Is insurance for a wind turbine compulsory in Germany?
No German statute requires a specific insurance for wind turbines. Others can still demand it: the lender in the loan agreement and the landowner in the lease. More important than the legal duty is the liability itself, because under section 823 of the German Civil Code (BGB) an operator is liable without any cap for damage caused by ice throw or falling parts.
Machinery cover: what is insured on the turbine
German machinery insurance (Maschinenversicherung) pays for sudden and unforeseen damage to the turbine: operating errors, short circuit, overvoltage, design and material defects. Many wind policies extend this to all risks and add fire, lightning, storm, hail, theft and vandalism. Check that tower, foundation, transformer and the cabling within the park are named in the policy, since some offers leave them out.
Wear and tear is never insured, and with wind turbines the line is hard to draw: a gearbox wears out over the years, and a bearing failure can be either. Insurers protect themselves with overhaul clauses that require a revision or an expert report after a set running time, or they apply a deduction for the age of major components.
Maintenance contract and insurance belong together
Many operators hold a full service contract with the manufacturer that already covers repairs and often part of the lost revenue. The insurance then mainly needs to cover what that contract excludes, such as lightning, storm and fire. When the full service contract expires or is replaced by basic maintenance, the risk for the insurer changes fundamentally.
Most gaps open at exactly this point. If you switch to an independent service company, the insurer must be told and the policy adjusted. Some specialist schemes in Germany offer machinery business interruption explicitly for turbines without a full service contract.
Loss of revenue: when the rotor stands still
If the turbine stops after an insured physical loss, the operator loses the feed in tariff or market premium under the German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG). Business interruption cover replaces this revenue for the agreed indemnity period. Rotor blades and gearboxes can have long lead times and a heavy crane has to be booked for the exchange, so the indemnity period should not be tight.
Policies usually carry a waiting period of a few days that the operator bears himself. Downtime without damage to your own turbine, for example when the grid operator cannot take power after a fault at the substation, needs a separate extension and is not standard.
Operator liability, environment and dismantling
As operator you are liable for damage caused by the turbine: ice thrown from the blades in winter, a fire spreading to forest or fields, oil from gearbox or transformer leaking into the soil. Operator liability covers bodily injury and property damage; with an environmental extension it also covers pollution damage and public law duties to remediate, for example under the German Environmental Damage Act.
For turbines in open countryside, section 35(5) of the German Federal Building Code requires a commitment to dismantle the turbine once use ends for good, and the permitting authority normally secures it with a security deposit. Besides a bank guarantee, the guidance issued by the German states expressly mentions a surety bond from an insurer, which leaves the operator's credit lines free.
What is covered
Damage to the turbine from operating errors, short circuit, overvoltage, design and material defects
Fire, lightning, storm, hail, theft and vandalism under all risks cover
Tower, foundation, transformer and park cabling, if included
Lost revenue after an insured physical loss for the indemnity period
Crane, salvage and clearing costs, depending on the policy
Operator liability for bodily injury and property damage, for instance from ice throw
Pollution damage from leaking oils and coolants, with environmental extension
Defence against unfounded claims by neighbours and landowners
What is not covered
Wear and gradual deterioration of gearbox, bearings and brakes
Repairs owed by the manufacturer under warranty or full service
Lost revenue from low wind, curtailment by the grid operator or negative power prices
Deliberately caused damage
Erection and installation of the turbine, which needs erection all risks cover
Who needs it
Community wind farms and energy cooperatives with one or a few turbines
Farmers and landowners running their own turbine
Small operating companies, usually set up as GmbH & Co. KG
Operators whose full service contract is about to expire
Owners of older turbines that keep running after the fixed EEG tariff ends
Who does not need it
If you only lease land to an operator, you do not need turbine insurance yourself, but the lease should require proof of the operator's cover
Wheel of misfortune
Spin the wheel of bad luck
Six things that really happen. The wheel picks yours and shows who pays.
Cost:
Budget policy Strong policy
See all six cases
Lightning strikes a rotor blade, high, with blade exchange, crane and downtime. Budget policy: pays in part, Strong policy: pays. Lightning is part of any property cover, but basic policies often cap crane and salvage, and without loss of revenue the downtime stays with the operator.
Gearbox fails in year twelve, high, with exchange, crane and downtime. Budget policy: pays in part, Strong policy: pays in part. The sudden failure is insured, the wear before it is not. For old gearboxes almost every policy applies a deduction for age.
Ice falls on a parked car, a few thousand euros. Budget policy: pays, Strong policy: pays. A textbook operator liability claim. The insurer checks whether ice detection was running and pays if the operator is liable.
Park cable cut by a digger, repair plus downtime of every connected turbine. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: pays. Park cabling is missing from some policies. If it is included, repair and the lost revenue of every affected turbine are covered.
A year of weak wind, markedly lower income. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: does not pay. Low wind is not physical damage and remains business risk. No loss of revenue cover pays for it.
Gear oil leaks into the soil, cost of soil remediation. Budget policy: does not pay, Strong policy: pays. Remediating the soil falls on the operator under environmental law. It is covered only with the environmental extension.
What it costs
There is no price list for wind turbines; every turbine is underwritten individually. The premium depends mainly on replacement value, turbine type and its loss record in the market, age and maintenance contract. No independent published comparisons exist, so we do not quote sample premiums.
What drives the premium
Replacement value and rated output
Manufacturer and model, especially series with known serial defects
Age of the turbine and condition of major components according to an expert report
Full service, basic maintenance or independent service company
Indemnity period and waiting period for loss of revenue
Deductible and loss history of the turbine
Your premium is fixed only in the quote, which the insurer bases on a questionnaire, the maintenance contract and, for older turbines, an expert report.
The policy levels on the market
01
Liability only
Operator liability alone, for example when a full service contract with availability guarantee covers the technology. Cheap, but leaves lightning, storm and fire on the turbine open.
02
Wind turbine policy
Machinery or all risks, loss of revenue and operator liability in one contract designed for onshore turbines. The right approach for most community wind farms and single operators.
03
Bespoke programme
For several or older turbines without full service, with individual rules on overhaul, major components and grid outage. Usually negotiated by a broker with specialist insurers.
How to recognise a good policy
Criterion
Minimum standard
Strong policy
Why it matters
Scope of property cover
Machinery breakdown with fire and lightning
All risks including storm, hail, theft and vandalism
Lightning and storm cause particularly expensive losses on wind turbines, and a struck blade often has to be replaced.
Insured parts
Nacelle, rotor and tower
plus foundation, transformer, park cabling and grid connection point
One damaged cable in the park shuts down every turbine connected to it.
Indemnity period
6 months
12 months or longer
Lead times for gearboxes and blades and the availability of heavy cranes stretch the downtime.
Overhaul clause
fixed overhaul after a set number of years
expert report instead of blanket exchange, condition monitoring accepted
A rigid overhaul duty costs money even when the component is in good order.
Deduction for age
deduction on major components by age
no deduction or a capped one
For a ten year old gearbox the deduction decides how much the operator pays himself.
Crane and salvage costs
small sub limit
enough for a heavy crane deployment
The crane for a blade exchange can be a large share of the total loss.
Operator liability limit
combined limit for bodily injury and property damage
high combined limit with pollution and environmental damage cover
A forest fire or a serious injury from ice throw quickly reaches large sums.
Change of maintenance contract
duty to notify with no further rule
regulated in the policy, cover continues if notified in time
Moving from full service to basic maintenance is the most common moment for an unnoticed gap.
Insurers on the German market
Not every German property insurer writes wind turbines, and cover is usually underwritten individually on the basis of a questionnaire. Alongside large insurers with their own wind policies, specialist and industrial insurers are active. The list describes the German market; it says nothing about which insurers we work with.
Insurer
Background
R+V
specialist scheme for wind turbines in its commercial lines
Württembergische
modular wind policy for onshore turbines
Markel
specialist insurer based in Munich with its own underwriting guide for wind power
Allianz
machinery and business interruption cover for wind turbines based on a questionnaire
Allianz Commercial
industrial arm of Allianz, insures onshore and offshore renewables
HDI Global
industrial insurer of the Talanx group, based in Hanover
One contract with property, loss of revenue and liability sections, tailored to onshore turbines. Clear, but older turbines and anything outside the standard need checking.
Machinery and machinery business interruption
Classic engineering cover with loss of revenue, often for turbines without full service. Liability then runs under a separate policy.
Operator liability for renewable plants
Stand alone liability for wind, solar or biogas, useful when property cover sits in a service contract or a framework agreement.
Erection all risks for construction and repowering
Covers the building phase up to acceptance. Operational cover must start without a gap.
Dismantling surety bond
A bond from an insurer as security for the dismantling commitment towards the permitting authority.
Myth or truth
True or false?
Five things people say about this insurance. Guess first, then see the answer.
German law requires insurance for a wind turbine.
This is false.
False, there is no statutory duty to insure. The lending bank and the landowner can require proof in their contracts, though.
A full service contract protects the turbine completely.
This is false.
False, service contracts usually exclude lightning, storm, fire, vandalism and liability to third parties. That is what the insurance is for.
Loss of revenue is only paid after physical damage to the turbine.
This is true.
True, business interruption depends on an insured physical loss. Low wind or curtailment do not count.
Turbines in open countryside must have security for dismantling.
This is true.
True, the Federal Building Code requires a dismantling commitment and authorities usually secure it with a deposit. A surety bond from an insurer can provide it.
Machinery insurance also pays for gearbox wear.
This is false.
False, wear is excluded under every machinery policy. What is covered is sudden damage, such as a fracture from a material defect.
Common mistakes
Not telling the insurer about a move from full service to basic maintenance
Leaving park cabling and grid connection point out of the policy
Choosing a short indemnity period although spare parts have long lead times
Missing deadlines under the overhaul clause and losing cover for major components
Not adjusting sums insured and insured revenue once the fixed tariff ends
Buying liability cover without the environmental extension despite oil in gearbox and transformer
Frequently asked questions
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Does the insurance pay for a gearbox failure?
Yes, if a sudden event such as a material defect or a fracture caused it.
Pure wear is excluded.
For older gearboxes many policies apply a deduction for age,
and an overhaul clause may require proof that the gearbox was overhauled or inspected after a
certain running time.
Do I need insurance if I have a full service contract?
Yes, but different cover.
The full service contract pays for repairs arising from operation but usually excludes lightning,
storm, fire, vandalism and liability to third parties.
Those parts need insurance.
We put both contracts side by side so nothing is paid for twice and nothing is left out.
Is lost revenue from low wind insured?
No.
Only downtime after physical damage to the turbine is covered.
Weak wind years, curtailment by the grid operator and periods of negative power prices are
business risk.
Who is liable if ice falls from a blade onto a car?
The operator, if he breached his duty of care,
for instance because ice detection was not working or warning signs were missing.
Operator liability pays justified claims and defends unfounded ones.
What indemnity period makes sense?
At least six, preferably twelve months.
A blade or gearbox is not always available at once,
and the exchange needs a heavy crane that must be booked as well.
A short indemnity period runs out before the turbine is back online.
Can an older turbine still be insured?
Usually yes, with more scrutiny.
Insurers often ask for an expert report on gearbox,
blades and tower and set higher deductibles or deductions for major components.
If you plan to keep running after the fixed tariff ends, renegotiate the policy in good time.
Is the construction phase included?
Normally not.
Erection and repowering are covered by erection all risks insurance up to acceptance;
the operational policy then has to follow without a gap.
Why use a broker for wind turbine insurance?
Because the German market is small and every turbine is assessed individually.
We compare maintenance contract, lender requirements and insurance,
obtain quotes and support you when a claim comes in.
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