If you’re underinsured, you may be at risk of financial loss when an unexpected insurance event occurs and you need to rebuild your home or replace contents.
Home Insurance
Are solar panels and inverters covered by home insurance?
Solar panels and inverters are now found on roughly a third of Victorian homes – do you know if your solar power system is included in your home insurance policy?
Victorian households have embraced solar panels and products over the last decade, with Solar Victoria reporting that 30 per cent of homes in Victoria now utilise the power of the sun.
But with an increasing number of houses featuring solar panels, solar inverters and even solar batteries and hot water systems, homeowners may not have accounted for these cleaner energy products when calculating their sum insured for their home insurance policies.
“Underinsurance is a major problem in Australia and homeowners can easily forget to include fixtures like solar panels when calculating their sum insured,” says RACV General Manager Home Bill Bloodworth.
“Engaging with professional builders and valuers, as well as using online building and insurance calculators, can help ensure the value of important fixtures in your home – such as your solar panels and other solar products – are covered in your insurance policies.”
If you own or are thinking about purchasing solar panels, this guide outlines how to include them in your home insurance policy.
A guide to insuring your solar panels
How can I insure my solar panels? Are they covered under my home and contents insurance policy?
Solar panels, solar roof heating and solar inverters are usually considered permanent fixtures to your home.
For detached houses and properties not under a strata scheme, these solar fixtures can be covered under an RACV Home Buildings Insurance policy.
If the property falls under a strata scheme (for example, an apartment, unit or duplex), these solar fixtures can be covered under an RACV Home Contents Insurance policy, unless they are covered under another insurance policy already.
Refer to your Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) to confirm what is included in your home (buildings and/or contents) insurance policy. You can also contact your insurer. RACV’s call centre is based in Victoria and is open from 7am to 11pm every day of the year.
How much should I insure my solar panels for?
Many common household products can be forgotten when calculating your insurance, including solar panels.
Even if you remember to include them when calculating your buildings insurance^ or calculating your contents insurance*, you might accidentally underestimate the value of your solar panel system.
Your solar panels should be insured for the cost to replace them.
If you received a government solar panel rebate, which reduced the cost of your solar panels, you still need to factor in the replacement cost when you update your sum insured to include your solar panel system.
What are my solar panels covered for?
It's important to read your policy's PDS to understand the types of insured events your solar panels and other fixtures may be covered for.
Completing regular home maintenance tasks, including cleaning your solar panels, can help reduce the incidence or severity of damage to your home. Regular home maintenance can also help should you need to make a home insurance claim.
Solar panels installed by RACV Solar come with a 25-year warranty, as well as a five-year warranty on the panel installation.
Are solar batteries or hot water systems covered under my home and contents insurance policy?
With RACV Home and Contents Insurance, solar products such as batteries may be covered by your insurance policy.
It’s important to read the PDS for full details on what is and isn’t included in your individual buildings or contents insurance policies.
What other consumers guarantees apply to my solar panels or inverters?
Check the product warranty supplied with your solar panels at the time or purchase to confirm the length of the warranty and what it covers.
Most product warranties for solar panels last for at least 10 years, although some solar providers, such as RACV Solar, include a 25-year product warranty on their panels.
RACV Solar also includes a five-year workmanship warranty on the panel installation.
How do I update my policy to include my solar panels?
It can be helpful to regularly review your home insurance policy and update your sum insured after purchasing new fixtures such as solar panels. This can help reduce the risk of underinsurance.
With RACV Home Insurance, members can make amendments to their sum insured on their policies at any time.
How do I make an insurance claim for my solar panels?
RACV allows members to make a home insurance claim online 24/7.
You can also contact the helpline on 13 19 03.
The information provided is general advice only. Before making any decisions please consider your own circumstances and the Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determinations. For copies, visit racv.com.au. As distributor, RACV Insurance Services Pty Ltd AFS Licence No. 230039 receives commission for each policy sold or renewed. Product issued by Insurance Manufacturers of Australia Pty Ltd ABN 93 004 208 084 AFS Licence No. 227678.
^ Building calculator: The Cordell Sum Sure Estimate is an estimate of the cost to rebuild the improvements on your property and is generated by the Cordell Sum Sure Calculator which uses available property attribute information (including information you input or confirm) and/or information collated by CoreLogic about the subject property (from insurers and other third party sources) and analyses them against construction industry data to statistically derive a rebuild estimate through a series of computer implemented algorithms (Cordell Sum Sure Estimate).
The Cordell Sum Sure Estimate does not take into account individual design features, site specific conditions, structural conditions and materials, local planning laws or any other regulations and may not be suitable for your particular circumstances. The Cordell Sum Sure Estimate is an indicative guide only and must not be relied upon as an accurate representation of the costs associated with rebuilding your property or in lieu of appropriate professional advice.
While CoreLogic uses commercially reasonable efforts to ensure the Cordell Sum Sure Estimate is current, CoreLogic does not warrant the accuracy, currency or completeness of the Cordell Sum Sure Estimate and to the full extent permitted by law excludes all loss or damage howsoever arising (including through negligence) in connection with the Cordell Sum Sure Estimate.
* Contents calculator: Typical home contents replacement costs are provided by Sum Insured. Whilst all reasonable care is taken to ensure the accuracy of the information as a guide for costing building contents replacement costs, no responsibility is accepted by Sum Insured for its accuracy. Please check with a Valuer or other suitably qualified professional for an accurate costing estimate. Insurance Australia Limited (A.B.N. 11 000 016 722) takes no responsibility for the costs provided by Sum Insured nor any liability for the accuracy of or reliance upon or use of, the costs. This service is licensed to Insurance Australia Limited (A.B.N 11 000 016 722) for use by its customers. © 2003-2025 Sum Insured is a trading name of Land Services SA Operating Pty Ltd (ACN 618 229 815) as trustee for Land Services SA Operating Trust (ABN 86 836 650 939). The building contents replacement cost calculator is registered under Australian Patent Number 2010202987.
