Oliver Prout

A cleaner future for the planet

As the world moves to a low carbon economy, energy from wind and solar is increasingly important in keeping the world’s lights on.  However, these projects are susceptible to damage by hailstorms, lightning strikes, wildfires, and mechanical failures.  Oliver’s work plays a crucial part in helping these renewable energy developers to protect their projects across the globe. “In my opinion solar risks are the most interesting. Solar technology itself is not complicated, but there is an array of issues that have to be taken care of to make the projects work.”

After leaving school, Oliver secured placements at insurer Liberty and broker Howden, which made him realise that working in the specialty insurance market was for him. An apprenticeship at insurer Chaucer led to Oliver securing a full-time role at AXIS as an Underwriting Assistant in the Renewable Energy team. Nearly three years on, he now works as an Assistant Underwriter mainly reviewing North American renewable energy risks that are based on dry land.

“It’s really motivating to know my work is helping the planet towards a cleaner future,” says Oliver. “The most interesting thing about being involved in insurance for renewable energy is the subtle difference between the technologies and varied weather conditions all over the world. With London being the global hub for specialty insurance you get to see the full array of risks that can occur worldwide, which I find fascinating.”

“As well as the challenges of understanding the projects that you work with and the sorts of risks that they face, specialty insurance is really based on both expertise and building strong relationships,” adds Oliver. “At AXIS our business comes to us through a broker, so it is important to develop long-term partnerships, which can often turn into social friendships, especially in renewables, which is still deemed a relatively new sector.” As renewable energy technology develops and the risks become more complex, London is the place where project owners come to for support to help navigate those risks and to protect the viability of their projects.