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DUPI – tackling the challenges of insuring offshore energy Maritime insurance undoubtedly plays a critical role in the offshore energy industry. And because the offshore energy industry is in a constant state of technological advance, one of the major challenges facing today’s insurance sector is to develop services that meet the changing needs of its clients’ operations.
“One of the major trends currently taking place in marine insurance is the response to environmental, social and government issues – the United Nations’ 17 sustainable development goals that our clients are incorporating into the way they run their companies,” begins Emiel Paaij, Director Marine at DUPI Underwriting Agencies in Rotterdam. “This is a big topic for our clients, and therefore it is a big topic for us.” While DUPI insures client interests throughout multiple industrial sectors, the company has a large client base in the maritime sector. “One of the areas that is expanding at the moment is the
generation of renewable energy with offshore wind farms.” From an insurance point of view, offshore wind presents some notable challenges. These are primarily due to the fast pace of progress seen in recent years, says DUPI Underwriting Manager Kasper Worm Andersen, who is based in DUPI’s new office in Copenhagen. “Around 20 years ago, an offshore wind farm in the North or Baltic Sea would have been built one or two kilometres from shore, in water a few metres deep. Ten years ago, they were built between 10 and 20 kilometres
from shore. And today, that distance can be up to 50 kilometres – sometimes 100 kilometres – from shore in 40 to 50-metre deep water.” The turbines have also increased in size, weight and capacity. “They used to be 5MW. Now they are up to 14MW with blades of 108 metres long,” he adds. While this progress is certainly positive in terms of energy production, it must be noted all these extensions of technical possibilities increase the exposure to risk. An offshore wind turbine located, say, 30 kilometres from shore is exposed to completely different levels
