Raptor Report

Resilience is Expensive, Except in Retrospect - Michael Perron (FM)

Episode Summary

In the latest episode of the Raptor Report, Michael Perron, Renewable Energy Market Lead at FM, joins us for a deep dive on what the shift from rapid deployment to building for long-term resilience actually means for solar.

Episode Notes

A few themes stood out from our conversation with Michael:

• Having resilience isn't the same as proving it. Auto-stow and high-angle tilt are meaningful advances, and it is just as important to make sure they perform as designed in the field. Michael's analogy: hail stow should function like a sprinkler system in a commercial building — tested, verified at inception, and re-verified on a regular cadence.
• Hail gets the headlines, but it isn't the full picture. Transformer health, vegetation and inverter fires, and other quieter exposures all shape a site's risk profile. Preventative and predictive maintenance across the full balance of system is what keeps the picture complete.
• Build for the project's lifetime, not just COD. Solar projects are financed for 20 to 30 years, while insurance policies renew annually. Resilient design and disciplined preventative maintenance are what keep an asset insurable across its full life.
• Shared data makes the whole industry stronger. Insurers, OEMs, developers, operators, and research labs each hold pieces of the risk picture, and no single party sees it all. Shared hail maps, third-party verified stow testing, and open conversations about near-misses are how the industry compounds what it learns. As Michael put it, quoting a former client: "A hail loss for any of us is bad for all of us."

Michael Perron is the Renewable Energy Market Lead and a member of the management team for FM’s Renewable Energy unit. He leads broker engagement, contributes to renewable energy strategy, and serves as a central internal market voice across underwriting, engineering, research, approvals, and other FM staff functions.

With nearly 10 years focused on renewable energy and more than 20 years as a broker, Perron brings an “internal insider” perspective to FM—bridging broker insights, client expectations, and technical risk expertise. Prior to FM, he co‑led Brown & Brown’s Energy & ClimateTech practice and previously led WTW’s U.S. Power & Renewables team. He also contributes thought leadership for FM and works closely with the marketing team on externally facing content.