Insurance provider GCube offers an Enhanced Defects Coverage program. The company says this program provides a realistic and dependable response to equipment upkeep and maintenance when no longer covered by a traditional manufacturer’s warranty.
The enhanced coverage comes at a critical time for the international wind energy industry as machinery warranties expire and wind farm owners and operators face increased maintenance and repair bills and further unexpected additional costs. To combat this, the program provides solid financial coverage, backed up by practical, hands-on support for a notoriously complex area of the wind energy market.
As part of the policy, wind farm owners and operators are covered for any unforeseen and unscheduled repairs associated with defective wind turbine parts, faulty workmanship and design and the longer-term cost of removal and repair. This depth of coverage, combined with a series of key oversight activities that take place at the end of the initial warranty period, makes this level of enhanced protection as robust as it is unique.
“Traditionally, large-scale project owners have relied on the original equipment manufacturers to take care of most unscheduled maintenance and turbine repair,” says John McLane, President, GCube Insurance Services, Inc. “Once warranties expire, large scale project owners are faced with the question of whether to take on-going operations and maintenance activities in-house.” McLane explains that this can result in the need to address the unplanned and unexpectedly high maintenance and service costs, coupled with the logistical and financial headache associated with turbine inactivity, as machinery spends weeks, and sometimes months, offline. Enhanced Defects Coverage is designed to put a cap on those costs and protect the project’s incomes balance sheet. Working closely with the operations and maintenance (O & M) providers, the coverage program addresses this challenge and provides a realistic and affordable level of coverage to the owners and operators of established wind farms.
GCube Insurance www.gcube-insurance.com
Filed Under: Financing, O&M
