With Eskom’s power outages becoming more frequent and longer, many homeowners have resorted to buying solar panels but this has created a market for thieves who target panels to sell in the black market.
According to experts, this trend is likely to be with us for a while due to the high demand of these power-generating equipment, prevalence of crime and unrelenting power outages. The panels are usually installed on the roof to attract sunlight to produce electricity. Their placement makes them easy targets.
King Price insurance’s client experience partner, Wynand van Vuuren, said SA has reportedly imported R3.6bn worth of solar panels in the first quarter of 2023 alone – over half of 2022’s entire value of R5.6bn.
“As a result, a booming black market has sprung up both for entire panels and for the scrap value of their components,” said Van Vuuren.
“The good news is that you’re covered for your losses if a certified electrician has installed your solar panel system correctly and issued a certificate of compliance for it, and you’ve insured it correctly. Solar panels and inverters could be covered under buildings, or under home contents if you don’t own the building,” he said.
Sumarie Greybe, the co-founder of digital insurance platform Naked, said those who were considering renting solar panels instead of owning them needed to tread carefully when taking this route. She said rented panels were usually covered under one’s home building policy.
“This policy will pay for the repair or replacement of the panels and other components if they’re destroyed, stolen or damaged in an insurable event. Insurable events include theft, fires, and weather [storms or wind, for example].”
She said insurance would also protect you from personal liability if an accident related to the solar panels hurt someone else or damaged their property.
“For example, if there is a short circuit in your wiring that is not the manufacturer or installer’s fault or an ‘act of God’ that causes a fire that in turn damages your neighbour’s property. It will, however, not cover wear-and-tear or service and maintenance-related issues. These should be covered under your supplier’s warranty and service agreements,” said Greybe.
She advised consumers to rent from reputable suppliers to avoid any disappointments.
“Insurers are strict about compliance, so ensure that your solar provider has the correct certifications and gets the necessary paperwork from your municipality. Insurance companies will want to see that you haven’t exposed yourself to unnecessary risk by being reckless or negligent – for example, installing a system with faulty wiring that could be a fire hazard,” said Greybe.
She said consumers must check carefully the agreement they were getting into with the supplier to avoid overlapping insurance coverage.
“If the rental company’s insurance covers damage or loss during transportation and installation, your policy only needs to start after the installation is done.”
Tenants can also install panels with consultation with their landlords.
“If you own a free-standing home, you can simply add the value of the system to your building insurance policy. The system is a fixture in your home, even though you don’t own it. If you live in [or rent] a sectional title, your body corporate usually buys building insurance on behalf of all owners. You can ask your managing agent or body corporate to increase the sum insured of your unit’s building cover to explicitly cover your solar system. Ask for written confirmation to ensure you’re covered,” said Greybe.
Measures to prevent solar panel theft:
- Install physical barriers such as fences, gates and security bars around the perimeter of the property,
- Install security cameras to monitor the property and deter thieves,
- Beams especially wireless-operated beams are effective early-warning system to notify you when something is by your panels,
- Mark your solar panels with a unique identifier such as a serial number or bar code to aid in their recovery if they are stolen,
- Install a small GPS unit to track stolen items. However, ir must be placed in an area that is not easy to tamper with or be found.
Experts say trend likely to be with us for while
Ensure you insure your solar panels as theft cases rise
Image: 123RF
With Eskom’s power outages becoming more frequent and longer, many homeowners have resorted to buying solar panels but this has created a market for thieves who target panels to sell in the black market.
According to experts, this trend is likely to be with us for a while due to the high demand of these power-generating equipment, prevalence of crime and unrelenting power outages. The panels are usually installed on the roof to attract sunlight to produce electricity. Their placement makes them easy targets.
King Price insurance’s client experience partner, Wynand van Vuuren, said SA has reportedly imported R3.6bn worth of solar panels in the first quarter of 2023 alone – over half of 2022’s entire value of R5.6bn.
“As a result, a booming black market has sprung up both for entire panels and for the scrap value of their components,” said Van Vuuren.
“The good news is that you’re covered for your losses if a certified electrician has installed your solar panel system correctly and issued a certificate of compliance for it, and you’ve insured it correctly. Solar panels and inverters could be covered under buildings, or under home contents if you don’t own the building,” he said.
Sumarie Greybe, the co-founder of digital insurance platform Naked, said those who were considering renting solar panels instead of owning them needed to tread carefully when taking this route. She said rented panels were usually covered under one’s home building policy.
“This policy will pay for the repair or replacement of the panels and other components if they’re destroyed, stolen or damaged in an insurable event. Insurable events include theft, fires, and weather [storms or wind, for example].”
She said insurance would also protect you from personal liability if an accident related to the solar panels hurt someone else or damaged their property.
“For example, if there is a short circuit in your wiring that is not the manufacturer or installer’s fault or an ‘act of God’ that causes a fire that in turn damages your neighbour’s property. It will, however, not cover wear-and-tear or service and maintenance-related issues. These should be covered under your supplier’s warranty and service agreements,” said Greybe.
She advised consumers to rent from reputable suppliers to avoid any disappointments.
“Insurers are strict about compliance, so ensure that your solar provider has the correct certifications and gets the necessary paperwork from your municipality. Insurance companies will want to see that you haven’t exposed yourself to unnecessary risk by being reckless or negligent – for example, installing a system with faulty wiring that could be a fire hazard,” said Greybe.
She said consumers must check carefully the agreement they were getting into with the supplier to avoid overlapping insurance coverage.
“If the rental company’s insurance covers damage or loss during transportation and installation, your policy only needs to start after the installation is done.”
Tenants can also install panels with consultation with their landlords.
“If you own a free-standing home, you can simply add the value of the system to your building insurance policy. The system is a fixture in your home, even though you don’t own it. If you live in [or rent] a sectional title, your body corporate usually buys building insurance on behalf of all owners. You can ask your managing agent or body corporate to increase the sum insured of your unit’s building cover to explicitly cover your solar system. Ask for written confirmation to ensure you’re covered,” said Greybe.
Measures to prevent solar panel theft:
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