UK battery growth prompts Allianz to strengthen specialist underwriting

Allianz UK has expanded its underwriting capability for battery energy storage systems, giving brokers access to specialist support for mid-market renewable energy projects.

While insurance is rarely the first issue considered when a battery project is being designed, it can have a significant influence on whether that project proceeds. The availability and cost of cover can affect financing, procurement and the technical controls required before a site enters operation.

That makes Allianz’s emphasis on early engagement particularly important.

Christian Simpson, Head of Construction, Engineering and Energy Insurance, Technical and Underwriting at Allianz UK, said battery storage was becoming an increasingly important part of the UK’s energy infrastructure, but remained a developing area of risk.

He said early conversations with experienced underwriters and renewable energy specialists would allow Allianz to understand each project, examine the controls being proposed and identify where it could offer support.

The important word here is early.

If an insurer is only brought into the process once equipment has been selected, the site layout has been fixed and construction is approaching, there may be little room to address its concerns without delay or additional cost.

A request for greater separation between equipment, a different fire-water strategy or additional monitoring may be perfectly manageable during design. Once civils are complete and containers are on site, it becomes a rather more expensive conversation.

Allianz’s decision to expand its underwriting capability also comes at an important point for the UK storage sector. Government data puts operational grid-scale battery capacity at 7.3 GW in June 2026, with between 23 GW and 27 GW expected to be required by 2030.

And reaching that goal shouldn’t be an issue, as there is no shortage of proposed projects. DESNZ and Ofgem reported in April that battery capacity progressing through the reformed connections queue remained 14.8 GW above the upper end of the Government’s 2030 range. It was also 61.7 GW above projected system requirements for 2035.

However, a place in the connections queue does not mean a project is ready to build.

Developers still need to demonstrate that a scheme is commercially viable, technically coherent and capable of being operated safely. Insurance is becoming another part of that test.

Fire risk remains central to the underwriting discussion, but it should not be reduced to whether a project has specified a suppression system.

An insurer will also want to understand the battery chemistry, equipment layout, detection systems, isolation arrangements and the way alarms are communicated. It will need confidence that emergency procedures are realistic and that someone remains responsible for maintaining those controls once the project is handed over.

As we’ve previously reported, certified equipment is only part of the answer. Weaknesses can still emerge at the interfaces between the battery, the site electrical system, monitoring platforms and emergency arrangements.

A fire strategy may look convincing on paper, for example, but it offers limited reassurance if alarm signals are not tested during commissioning or the person responsible for responding to them has not been clearly identified.

The same applies to operating data. Battery management systems, energy management systems and remote monitoring platforms need to work together, particularly where operators rely on early warning of abnormal temperatures, cell behaviour or communication failures.

These details are often split between different suppliers. The battery integrator may provide the equipment, another contractor may install the electrical infrastructure and a separate party may operate the site. Unless responsibilities are clearly defined, important controls can fall between contracts.

That is where early involvement from an insurer or risk engineer can add value. It can expose gaps while the project team still has time to resolve them.

Allianz’s move suggests that insurers see a growing market for well-developed battery projects. But greater underwriting capacity will not necessarily make poorly evidenced schemes easier to cover.