Review Hawaii Home Insurance Coverage for Your Home Solar Power Installation

Hawaii’s sunny climate is ideal for outdoor entertaining and healthy leisure pursuits like swimming and surfing. The abundant sunshine offers another benefit: it can be harnessed in home solar power generating systems that offer a clean form of electrical power as well as reducing energy costs. Homeowners who are considering a switch to solar power should talk to agents or insurers about how solar power installations are covered by their Hawaii home insurance policies.

Many homeowners have been deterred in the past from installing solar generating facilities because of the high initial cost of these installations. Incentives and solar rebates are now available that significantly reduce the cost of installing solar panels in Hawaii.  

Hawaii is one of more than 35 states where local laws and regulations allow customers benefit from ‘net’ electric meter reading for solar power systems. Net metering allows customers who send surplus electricity to the power grid to be credited for the full retail electricity rate rather than the lower wholesale rate. Net metering arrangements are particularly beneficial for residents of Hawaii where retail electricity rates are among the highest in the country. The bottom line: in Hawaii solar power systems connected to the grid have the potential to pay for themselves much sooner than similar systems installed in regions where retail electricity prices are lower and in states where net metering is not an option. 

Connection a solar electricity system to the grid involves the homeowner entering into an interconnection agreement with the utility company. Because interconnection agreements often have minimum insurance requirements, it’s best to check that your Hawaii home insurance policy meets these requirements.