QBE Insurance wins big for innovative insurance plan at SBR Management Excellence Awards

Its engineering risk cover for Singapore’s largest floating solar farm landed them the award.

Solar energy is Singapore’s most viable renewable energy source, but locating large-scale traditional solar facilities is challenging due to the country’s dense urban landscape and limited land availability.

Using the country’s large reservoir surface area to serve the dual purpose of water catchment and electricity generation, Tengeh Reservoir’s large-scale floating solar photovoltaic (PV) system is a first of its kind in the region, positioning Singapore as one of the few countries in the world to integrate green technology with water treatment.

With an area of about 45 football fields, the floating solar farm located at Tengeh Reservoir on the west coast of Singapore is one of the world’s largest inland floating solar PV systems.

Floating solar farms were found to be more efficient than conventional rooftop solar farms due to the cooler reservoir environment. The completion of the facility can help reduce the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels and help build Singapore’s climate resilience for a more sustainable future.

Photo Source: https://www.sembcorp.com/en/media/multimedia-centre/multimedia-Details-video?bannerId=17644

Given its experience in renewable energies like solar, wind and energy storage systems, and having already worked on similar projects in Singapore, Korea and Vietnam, the QBE Insurance (Singapore) Pte Ltd. team already had a good base to conduct due diligence.

The project is also well aligned to QBE’s goal to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is another example of how QBE is continuing to support its customers in their transition to a low-carbon economy and manage the risks associated with climate change.

For its innovative engineering risk cover, QBE Insurance (Singapore) Pte Ltd. received the Innovator of the Year - General Insurance award in the recently concluded Singapore Business Review Management Excellence Awards. The annual awards programme recognises excellent executives, innovators and teams, as well as HR and company initiatives that promote the well-being of employees.

In consideration of the award, three achievements were highlighted by the awarding body.

First is QBE being chosen as the lead risk insurer for Singapore’s largest floating solar farm. This reflects acknowledgment of QBE’s standing in Asia as an expert engineering insurer.

Second is having a clear sustainability agenda including a strong desire to support projects that build resilient communities.

Third is for having an engineering team that is highly regarded by brokers and insurers in the market and considered to play a leading role in the local industry.

The QBE Singapore team has technical knowledge and experience in renewable energy having previously worked on similar projects in Singapore, Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as Europe and the Americas for over 15 years.

In addition to having a strong global presence, QBE has built a good reputation in the market and is well recognised as a premium brand for having had operations in Singapore for 130 years.