PERse (Power.Energy.Risk; Securing the Environment) is a managing general underwriter specialising in property and casualty insurance products for energy and power production facilities, with a focus on renewable energy.

When the company was founded in 2011, renewable energy was practically overlooked, presenting a small footprint in both value and scale when compared to traditional fossil fuels. Fast forward 13 years and much has changed.

PERse recognised the profound impact that constructing renewable assets could have and built out its insurance solutions for wind, solar, bio, hydro, battery, and hydrogen projects, as well as other forms of renewable energy. The team is spearheaded by Gary Fleming, risk engineering practice leader, who joined PERse in 2019 and has been instrumental in developing application forms, creating renewable power reports dedicated to the class of business and raising expectations for submissions to be more comprehensive.

Fleming and the risk engineering team provide value across the insurance distribution chain from the insured to the capital provider. Keeping up with these constantly evolving renewable power trends is vital to success, and the company has been understanding these transformations by developing relationships with third-party engineering and manufacturers.

This has allowed it to provide feedback regarding new technology challenges and ongoing issues with all renewable power technologies so their capital providers are best poised to assume risk. It allows capital providers to selectively participate based on PERse's risk engineering review.

"In 2019, the PERse team saw a significant gap in renewables engineering knowledge in the insurance industry, so they brought me aboard to build a risk engineering team that would be a leader in the space," says Fleming. "The rapid developments in renewable power technologies and increasing exposure to natural catastrophe perils will require the continuous investment in people and knowledge."

The team's relationships and review of submissions have allowed them to advise insureds within the site and technology selection phase, which has proven to be impactful for both the insureds and capital providers.

The PERse risk engineering team have also developed industry recognised thought leadership papers on everything from solar panel microfractures to solar farm hail mitigation strategies and participated in industry conferences.

For its diligent work in renewable energy, the company wins the award of climate and sustainability team of the year.