Running hours · overhaul intervals · lost output
Machinery breakdown in power generation through Chubb
With an installation that produces electricity or heat, the repair is not the only thing that counts. Every day of downtime is lost production, and that part is not automatically included in the cover.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Machinebreuk bij energieopwekking via Chubb.
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- We compare the offerings of several insurers
- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
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A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Finass Advies compares the offering of several insurers objectively. Chubb is one of the parties that provides cover for generating installations: combined heat and power units, gas engines, turbines, generators, transformers, biogas and digestion installations, solar power installations with inverters and battery storage. This is equipment that runs almost continuously, and that changes both the likelihood of a loss and its consequences.
The technology differs from a production machine on two points. First, the load is constant: an engine running thousands of hours a year wears at a predictable rate, and that is why insurers tie the cover to running hours and overhaul intervals. Second, the installation is connected to a grid; overvoltage, grid faults and phase failure are real causes of loss here that barely arise with a stand-alone machine.
The second conversation is about the money you do not earn during the downtime. Repairing a cracked crankshaft is one item. The delivery you miss to the grid or to a heat customer is another. That lost output is a separate section with its own waiting period and indemnity period, matched to the delivery time of parts. Compare the options on the hub machinery breakdown insurance and with business interruption.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare machinery breakdown insurance.
What to look out for
Four points that with generating installations make the difference between cover and argument.
The overhaul schedule is a condition of cover
Policy conditions refer to the manufacturer's maintenance schedule, expressed in running hours. A major service that was postponed because the installation was still running well is the loss adjuster's first question afterwards. Record running hours, overhauls carried out and the results of oil sample analysis and vibration measurement; here those measurements are the evidence that the damage was sudden.
Grid faults, overvoltage and protective devices
Damage to generators, inverters and transformers caused by overvoltage or a fault in the grid is sometimes covered and sometimes excluded. It depends on the conditions and on the protective devices in place. Check whether surge protection and earthing arrangements appear as requirements on the policy schedule, because compliance is then a condition of cover.
Degradation is not damage
A gradual fall in output is inherent in the technology. Degradation of solar panels, loss of battery capacity, fouling of heat exchangers and wear of cylinder liners are excluded. Replacement wearing parts such as spark plugs, filters and oil also remain at your expense. That is operating cost, not damage.
Who carries the risk: supplier or insurer
With new installations there is often still a guarantee or performance contractin place, and during construction and commissioning the cover belongs on a Construction all risks (CAR) or erection insurance. The insurer does not pay for what the supplier has to repair. Record the date of transfer from commissioning to operation in writing, because most losses occur in precisely those weeks.
What does your premium depend on?
- Type of installation: gas engine, turbine, inverter or battery storage
- Output and running hours: continuous operation or only at peak demand
- Age and overhaul status: hours since the last major service
- Maintenance contract: full maintenance by the supplier or managed in-house
- Condition monitoring: oil analysis, vibration measurement and a fault history that can be read out
- Lost output: waiting period, indemnity period and delivery time of parts
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Machinery breakdown | With loss of income |
|---|---|---|
| A cracked crankshaft in the gas engine of your combined heat and power unit | Yes | Yes |
| A winding that burns out in the generator after a short circuit | Yes | Yes |
| A cooling pump that fails, causing the engine to overheat and seize | Yes | Yes |
| The supply to your heat customer that you miss out on for four weeks | No | Yes |
| Hiring an emergency generator so that you can keep supplying in the meantime | No | Provided that |
| A battery pack that after years reaches only half its capacity | No | No |
Repairing the installation and the money you do not earn during the downtime are two separate sections on one policy.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Is damage to the inverters of a solar power installation covered?
Under machinery breakdown cover it can be, provided the inverters are listed on the policy and the cause is sudden and unforeseen, for example a short circuit or overvoltage. A gradual fall in output and replacement at the end of the service life remain excluded. Fire damage to the installation runs through the property policy; see solar panels and buildings insurance.
What happens if the major overhaul has been postponed?
After a loss the first question is then whether the postponement could be the cause. If the overhaul intervals are included as a condition, exceeding them can lead to a reduced settlement or a rejection. Discuss any postponement with the insurer in advance and have the confirmation recorded in writing. With these installations a verbal assurance is rarely enough.
Is the lost electricity output paid for?
Only if the lost output or business interruption following machinery breakdown section is insured as well. Without that section the policy pays only for the repair of the installation. Choose the indemnity period on the basis of the actual delivery time of critical parts, because with engines and turbines that is often longer than the standard period on the policy.
Do we always have to report a fault?
Report as soon as you could reasonably know there is damage; Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires timely notification and mitigation of the loss. Restarting an installation that has given an alarm can increase the damage and weaken your position. Secure the fault history and do not let it be overwritten before the loss adjuster has been able to read it out.