Several solar panel manufacturers and their distributors have been sued in class actions alleging the panels are defective and need to be replaced. As will be explained below, these kinds of claims are covered by general liability insurance (CGL), the type of policy purchased by virtually any business.

Claims for Defective Solar Panels Allege Property Damage

General liability policies typically cover bodily injury and property damage. “Property damage” is defined to include “loss of use of tangible property that is not physically injured.”  Claims that the panels are defective and have led to a loss of electrical generation capacity of the roof are claims for “loss of use” of the roof for that purpose.

Consumers bought solar panels so they could use their roof surfaces to generate electricity. Due to the alleged problems with the panels, class members are claiming damages for the lost use of their roof surfaces for collecting solar energy and generating electricity from it. Class members have also suffered loss of use of the inverters. Inverters are connected to the panel array and convert the DC power generated by the solar system into domestic AC power. Defective panels reduce the use of the inverter (as less current is passed through it and converted to usable AC). Moreover, inverters have minimum thresholds, and the reduced output may shut the inverter down entirely. Thus, the claims of class members would also include loss of use of their inverters.

Read the full blog post: Claims for Defective Solar Panels Are Covered by CGL Insurance