Do Insurance Companies Charge More for Solar Panels?
Short answer: usually only a little, and sometimes nothing at all. But “usually” is doing a lot of work in that sentence, so here’s exactly what pushes a UK solar premium up, what pushes it down, and the one phone call that matters more than any of it.
So, Does It Really Cost More?
For most UK homeowners with a standard roof-mounted system, the honest answer is: a bit, but not much. Adding declared solar panels to an existing buildings insurance policy typically adds somewhere in the region of £25 to £50 a year. Some insurers don’t charge anything extra at all for a straightforward, MCS-certified installation, treating the panels much like they’d treat a conservatory or a new roof, as a permanent part of the building rather than a separate risk.
Where it gets more expensive is once you move away from “standard”: bigger systems, battery storage, ground-mounted arrays, or wanting cover for things a normal policy doesn’t touch, like lost generation income if your system goes down. That’s when people typically end up looking at a specialist policy instead of just adding panels to what they’ve already got, and specialist cover runs closer to £70 to £120 a year.
The real headline isn’t the price rise. It’s that you have to tell your insurer at all. Skip that step and you risk a much bigger problem than a few extra pounds a year — more on that further down.
Why Premiums Vary So Much Between Insurers
Ask five UK insurers the same question and you’ll get five different answers, and that’s normal rather than a red flag. A handful of things genuinely change how an insurer prices the risk:
| Factor | Tends to push premium… | Why |
|---|---|---|
| MCS-certified installer | Down | Signals a properly designed, code-compliant system with lower fault/fire risk |
| Roof-mounted vs ground-mounted | Ground-mount: Up | Ground arrays aren’t part of the building structure and carry higher theft risk |
| System size | Larger: Up | Higher replacement value means a bigger sum needs insuring |
| Battery storage added | Up (sometimes) | Batteries can sit under buildings or contents cover depending on how they’re fitted |
| Postcode / theft risk area | Varies | Standard home insurance underwriting factor, same as for any valuable fixture |
| Accidental damage add-on | Up if added | Only around 1 in 5 UK policies include it as standard — the rest charge extra |
Real 2026 Price Ranges
Here’s roughly how the numbers stack up right now, from cheapest to most comprehensive:
To put that in context: a full uninsured system typically costs £6,100 to £14,000+ to replace outright, and even a single damaged panel usually runs £200–£400 plus labour to fix. Against that, £25–£50 a year is genuinely cheap peace of mind — it’s less than most people spend replacing a phone screen.
Battery Storage and Ground-Mounted Panels: The Real Cost Drivers
If your premium jump is bigger than expected, it’s rarely the panels themselves causing it. It’s usually one of these two:
Batteries need checking separately. A wall-mounted battery inside your home or garage usually falls under buildings insurance, but a freestanding outdoor unit can need contents cover instead. Batteries typically cost £3,500–£8,000, so getting this wrong is expensive to get wrong.
Ground-mounted arrays don’t automatically count as “buildings”. Because they’re not fixed to the structure of your home, standard buildings insurance often doesn’t extend to them at all. They usually need a specific extension or a standalone specialist policy, and they carry a higher theft risk than roof-mounted systems too.
Plug-in or balcony solar kits are a different case again — since they simply plug into a socket rather than being permanently fixed, they’re usually treated as a portable electrical appliance under contents insurance rather than buildings cover, so the same rules don’t automatically apply.
The Disclosure Trap That Costs Far More Than Any Premium Rise
This is the part worth actually paying attention to. Under UK insurance law, not telling your insurer about a material change to your property, and solar panels count as one, is treated as material non-disclosure. That’s not a technicality. It can invalidate your entire policy, not just a claim connected to the panels.
An unrelated claim can be refused too. If your insurer later discovers undeclared panels, even a claim for something completely unrelated, like a burst pipe or a break-in, could be turned down because the risk they agreed to cover wasn’t the risk actually on the property.
Alongside declaring the panels, you’ll also need to increase your buildings sum insured to reflect the added rebuild cost, and check whether your solar system needs declaring separately under any single-item limit your policy sets. Both take minutes on the phone and cost nothing upfront.
How to Keep the Increase Down
- 1
Use an MCS-certified installer
Certification is a recognised quality signal insurers use when assessing risk, and some insurers require it outright, particularly for battery cover.
- 2
Shop around rather than defaulting to a renewal
Insurer appetite for solar risk varies more than most people expect. A quick comparison after installation can genuinely save money.
- 3
Only go specialist if you actually need to
Large systems (8kWp+), ground-mounted arrays, or wanting generation-loss cover are good reasons for a standalone policy. A typical roof-mounted home system usually isn’t.
- 4
Get your rebuild value right, not just “high enough”
Under-declaring your rebuild cost can leave you short on any claim, solar-related or not, regardless of what you’re paying in premium.
- 5
If comparing specialist providers, check they’re properly authorised
A standalone policy should come from a provider on the Financial Conduct Authority’s register — worth a two-minute check before you buy.
Where to Go Deeper
This piece is about the premium question specifically. For the full breakdown of exactly what’s covered and what isn’t, room by room and risk by risk, our Solar Panel Insurance UK 2026 guide is the one to read next. If fire risk is your main worry, we’ve also covered the small print that can void a claim after a solar fire. And if you’re weighing up an installer, our guide to what MCS certification actually means explains why it matters for insurance as well as grants.
If you’re comparing costs more generally, our 2026 solar panel cost guide and Solar Panel Calculator are good next stops, and if your system’s covered by finance rather than bought outright, our guide to solar panels with no upfront cost explains how ownership can affect what you need to insure. Independent guidance on comparing insurance generally is also available free from MoneyHelper, the government-backed money advice service.
The Honest Summary
- Most standard roof-mounted systems add £25–£50 a year to an existing policy — some insurers add nothing.
- Specialist standalone cover, for bigger or ground-mounted systems, runs £70–£120 a year.
- Batteries and ground-mounted arrays are the usual reason a quote jumps higher, not the panels themselves.
- Not declaring your panels can void your whole policy, not just a solar-related claim.
- An MCS-certified install and a quick comparison after fitting are the two easiest ways to keep the cost down.
