“Insurance is not just about helping clients when something goes wrong – it’s also about supporting innovation and helping society grow and advance.”
When most people think of insurance, they think of insurance companies being there only when things go wrong. But have you ever thought about insurance as a tool for progressing society and improving the world?
Insurance touches virtually every aspect of our lives and in many ways, it gives us the confidence to push the boundaries in new ventures that improve our lives.
Insurance is not just about helping clients when something goes wrong – it’s also about supporting innovation and helping society grow and advance.
The progress we are seeing in Africa in renewable energy and large-scale green projects would not be possible without insurance. Consider some of the risks associated with the mega renewable energy projects, often involving new and untested technologies: wind turbines as high as the Eiffel Tower, with rotor diameters of over 100 metres and millions of dollars in value exposed to fire, weather, political violence and more. Think about the risks of transporting these wind turbines to remote locations, the engineering feat to erect and install them and the potential liabilities if something goes wrong. Consider a solar plant out in an open field, exposed to sunlight as well as hail, flood and fire. Independent power producers are entrepreneurs with much at stake, and they would not take these risks on their own. Banks and funders would not finance projects without the confidence that these risks were covered by a reputable insurer with comprehensive cover for the many risks that could destroy an entire project.
South Africa has seen significant downgrades in load shedding, mostly thanks to private sector investments into renewable energy which has reduced the dependency on Eskom alone. The PWC Africa Energy Review 2023 reveals that South Africa has installed 10GW of renewable projects, as the country transitions from Eskom and fossil-based power to green energies. We are feeling the benefits of this investment; every load shedding free day is also a full day of operating for a small business and the environment will benefit too.
Renewables projects are gaining momentum across the rest of Africa, with the largest green projects recently being insured by iTOO for up to $500 million in capacity. These are staggering numbers, and
Africa has the sunshine, climate and the space for renewable energy to drive social and economic progress. By being the leading local renewable energy underwriter in Africa, iTOO Renew Risk is unleashing the potential of the African continent.
We are proud to bring our renewable energy expertise to Africa and to share the insights of our partners in this edition of our publication, The Expert.