Energy & Sustainability Consultants Insurance
Energy and sustainability advice is increasingly tied to legal obligations and public statements. A large company relies on its ESOS assessment to comply, a quoted company publishes carbon figures in its annual report under SECR, a landlord needs an EPC rating to let a building, and a business tells its customers it is on track to net zero. If the work behind any of those is wrong, the client faces a compliance failure or a public correction.
Savings projections produce a different kind of claim. A client invests in LED lighting, heat pumps, solar or building controls because a consultant modelled the payback, and when the savings do not arrive the client compares its bills with the business case. Whether the shortfall comes from the model, the installation or the way the building is used becomes the dispute.
Assessors working under accreditation schemes carry their own exposure. EPC and DEC assessors lodge certificates through an accreditation scheme, and schemes typically require members to hold professional indemnity insurance. A wrong rating can affect a sale, a letting or compliance with minimum energy efficiency standards for rented property.
We can advise energy and sustainability consultancies and assessors on professional indemnity for statutory reporting, assessment and advisory work, and on the projection and green claims exposures that are growing alongside it.
Common claims and risk exposures
The exposures that produce claims in this trade, rather than a generic list.
Statutory reporting errors
ESOS assessments, SECR disclosures and similar compliance work. An error can mean a client is found non compliant or has to correct published figures, and the client's costs of putting it right, plus any enforcement consequences, can be pursued against the adviser.
Savings projections that fail
A retrofit, efficiency or renewable scheme justified on projected savings that do not materialise. The claim is the difference between projected and actual performance over years, which can exceed the consultancy fee many times over.
EPC and DEC ratings
A rating lodged too high or too low. A low rating can block a letting or depress a sale price; a high one may be challenged later when works are needed to meet standards. Accredited assessors are often audited by their scheme as well as exposed to claims.
Grant and funding applications
Applications for public funding or incentive schemes prepared or supported by the consultant. Ineligible claims, missed deadlines or evidence that fails audit can lead to funding being refused or clawed back, and the client looks to its adviser for the shortfall.
Green claims and net zero statements
Carbon footprints, offsetting advice and sustainability reports that underpin a client's public claims. If those claims are challenged as misleading, the client may face regulatory attention and reputational damage, and the advice behind the claims will be examined.
The cover we arrange
We arrange professional indemnity and related insurance around the services you provide, the clients you work with and the contractual requirements you face. The appropriate cover and limits will depend on your individual activities and the terms available from insurers.
Professional indemnity
Claims arising from negligent energy audits, carbon reporting, sustainability strategy and design advice. The proposal should separate statutory compliance work, assessment and advisory services.
- Energy audits and ESOS work
- Carbon and SECR reporting
- Sustainability strategy and reports
- Defence costs, depending on the policy
Accredited assessor cover
EPC and DEC assessors need cover that meets their accreditation scheme's requirements. Some schemes arrange cover for members; others require evidence of an individual policy, so check what yours expects.
- Domestic and non domestic EPCs
- Display energy certificates
- Scheme minimum requirements
- Lodgement and audit errors
Performance and projection claims
Cover for claims that modelled savings were negligently prepared. The policy answers negligence in the model; it is not designed to underwrite the savings themselves, which is why the way projections are presented matters.
- Negligent modelling and assumptions
- Payback and business cases
- Stated limitations in reports
- No cover for guaranteed outcomes
Public and employers' liability
Site surveys involve plant rooms, roofs, boiler houses and industrial premises. Employers' liability is legally required once you employ staff and can be arranged where required, subject to the policy terms.
- Surveys of plant and roofs
- Damage to client equipment
- Employers' liability where required
- Metering and logging equipment
Run off
Continuing cover after the consultancy closes. Savings shortfalls emerge over several years of bills, and reporting errors often come to light at the next compliance cycle.
- Continues after the practice ceases
- Shortfalls emerge over time
- Commonly six years
- Arranged before closure
What an underwriter will ask
Having these to hand shortens the process considerably, and usually improves the terms.
- Fee income split between ESOS and statutory compliance, SECR and carbon reporting, EPC and DEC assessment, strategy and design advice
- Whether the practice specifies, procures or project manages installations, or only recommends them
- Whether savings or performance figures are ever guaranteed or linked to fees
- Grant and funding applications prepared, and the typical value of funding sought
- Accreditation schemes and professional registrations held, including ESOS lead assessor status where relevant
- The largest client by energy spend and the largest project by capital value
- Whether sustainability reports or carbon figures are published by clients
- Claims and notified circumstances over the last six years
What affects the cost of your insurance?
The main factors insurers consider when assessing the premium.
Compliance versus advisory work
Statutory reporting and certificate work carries a defined exposure, while design advice and capital investment cases can involve much larger sums, so the split of fees shapes the terms.
Projection practices
Clear assumptions, sensitivity ranges and stated limitations in savings models make claims easier to defend and are viewed favourably by insurers.
Scale of projects
The capital value of schemes that proceed on the advice, and the energy spend of the clients, indicate how large a claim could be.
Involvement in delivery
Consultancies that also specify, procure or oversee installation take on more responsibility for the outcome than those who report and recommend.
Conditions and exclusions to consider
Terms vary between insurers, so treat these as the questions to ask rather than a description of any one policy.
Guaranteed savings
Promising a level of savings, or tying fees to them under a shared savings model, creates a contractual obligation beyond reasonable skill and care that professional indemnity typically does not cover.
Installation and contracting work
Supplying or installing equipment moves the business into contracting and product exposure. That needs separate liability cover, and installed works may be excluded from an advisory policy.
Fines and penalties
Civil penalties for a client's non compliance, and any fines for misleading claims, are generally not insurable. The client may still try to recover its other losses from the adviser.
Pollution and environmental damage
Contamination or environmental harm sits outside an energy advisory policy. Where work involves ground source systems or fuel storage, the pollution position needs checking separately.
Common questions
Our accreditation scheme requires PI insurance. Is any policy acceptable?
Check the scheme's requirements first, because some set a minimum limit, specific terms or run off conditions. We can arrange cover around those requirements, and it is worth confirming whether the scheme already provides any cover to members.
A client's savings are below what we projected. Are we liable?
Not simply because the figures were missed. The question is whether the projection was prepared with reasonable skill and care on the information available, and whether the assumptions and limitations were made clear. Usage changes, tariffs and installation quality often explain shortfalls, so keep your workings and notify your insurer if a complaint is made.
We offer shared savings contracts. Can that be insured?
The professional advice can be insured, but the commercial promise of savings generally cannot. If your fee depends on delivering savings, discuss the contract terms before agreeing them, because the guarantee element may sit outside the policy.
A client has been accused of greenwashing based on our report. What now?
Notify your insurer as soon as you are aware. Whether you are exposed depends on what you advised, how the client used your work and whether their public claims went further than your findings. Keep the report, the scope and any correspondence on how the client intended to use it.
We help clients apply for grants. Is that covered?
It can be, provided it is declared. The claim usually follows a refused or clawed back application, so insurers will ask about the schemes you work on, the value of funding involved and how eligibility is checked.
How do I get a quote from True Risk Solutions?
Call 01304 262880 and speak to a broker, or email info@truerisksolutions.co.uk with what you do, what you need cover for and a phone number with the best time to call, and a broker will call you back. We need a phone number to quote, because the cover and the price depend on questions that are quicker to answer on a call than by email.
Speak to a specialist who understands your industry
Tell us about your business and the work you undertake, and we will come back to you with cover options built around it. Call 01304 262880, or email us with a phone number and the best time to call and a broker will ring you back.