Aviva launches environmental goods & services cover
Farmers engaged in the environmental goods and services sector could benefit from a new range of specialist insurance covers from Aviva.
Aviva has recently expanded its engineering, marine, construction and operational risks cover for onshore wind, solar and energy from waste power generation, including biomass energy production, environmental consultancy and building technologies.
Yawar Choudhry, commercial product consultant at Aviva, said: The environmental goods and services sector is worth 107bn in the UK1, and involves over 55,000 businesses across sectors such as farming, construction, manufacturing, design, architecture and consultancy. It is much larger and has greater economic and employment impact than is generally recognised.
As incentives to lower emissions develop, the sector is forecast to increase in value by up to 45bn by 20151. Aviva has the capability to support the increased focus in the UK on harnessing renewable energy, lowering carbon emissions and achieving compliance with environmental regulations, with policy cover ranging from small companies using a single solar panel to national onshore wind farms.
For example, a landowner under a traditional commercial policy may decide to install a wind turbine on his property to sell energy to the electricity grid. Aviva can now cover every aspect of the project, from marine transit if the wind turbine is imported from abroad, through to construction and operation once the turbine is built.
Cover is also available for those working in environmental consultancy, in areas such as land remediation, geological surveying, pollution control and environmental monitoring.
Public liability cover will now include failure to supply power (up to 1m), and cover for any reduction in the value of property (up to 1m) due to exposure of electromagnetic radiation or electromagnetic fields. Professional indemnity cover is also available for environmental consultants, up to the value of 5m.
The news follows a recent Carbon Trust survey of UK business leaders which found that 92 per cent believe green growth represents an opportunity for their business.
Harry Morrison, general manager at the Carbon Trust Standard, said: Avivas step into the environmental goods and services market is further evidence of growth in the green economy. This new initiative follows Avivas success in 2008 in becoming the first UK insurer to be awarded the Carbon Trust Standard for managing, measuring and reducing the companys carbon footprint across its UK operations.
Zelda Bentham, group senior environment manager at Aviva, said: We are pleased that the launch of our covers resonances so well with the recommendation included in the Carbon Connect report. This follows the government inquiry co-chaired by Lord Teverson calling for insurers to develop such solutions for renewable energy projects”.
A recent audit of the top 100 UK companies by The Environmental Investment Organisation (EIO) ranked Aviva second place overall. The EIO measures carbon intensity, which is calculated using the ratio of carbon emissions to turnover.
To find out more about Avivas extended cover for the environmental goods and services sector visit www.aviva.co.uk/yourbusiness to find your nearest independent broker.
1 Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) Report, March 2009
http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/news/news/press-centre/2011/Pages/race-for-green-growth.aspx
Full listings available at http://www.eio.org.uk/etindex.php?page=rankings_tables. Aviva emits 1.36m tonnes of carbon dioxide per $m of turnover.
Aviva is one of the world’s largest insurance groups* with 53 million customers worldwide and 46,000 employees.
Avivas main activities are long-term savings, fund management and general insurance, with worldwide total sales of 45.1 billion and funds under management of 379 billion*.
In the UK, Aviva takes care of its 19.2 million customers by helping them look after their future, protecting whats important from their health to their homes, their cars to their business and saving for the future.
Aviva has a 10.5%** share of the UK life and pensions market and insures one in six homes and one in ten cars in the UK. It is also one of the oldest UK insurers, with a heritage stretching back more than 300 years.
RAC, which is owned by Aviva, provides breakdown and insurance services for individuals and businesses and has around seven million customers.
Aviva is carbon neutral worldwide, and is ranked in the top 10% of socially responsible companies globally by the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. In 2009 we invested 3.8m into the community. Read our corporate responsibility report at www.aviva.com/cr
Avivas global Street to School programme is working in partnership with Railway Children in the UK to get children living on the streets back into education and everyday life. Find out more at www.aviva.co.uk/street-to-school.
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*based on gross worldwide premiums at 31 December 2009
**Source: ABI data released August 2010