Will a Fire Risk Assessment Reduce my Business Insurance?

Regardless of the industry you are in, or the size of your business, fire protection is one of the most vital points for businesses to consider.

If you are the owner or manager of a business, it is your responsibility to protect your team and visitors to your site as much as possible. Alongside this, insufficient fire protection measures could invalidate your business insurance claims, if a fire were to take place.

To demonstrate the critical importance of fire protection, and ensuring that this is adequate for your business insurance needs, we’ve shared our complete guide to business fire risk assessments below.

What is included in a fire risk assessment?

A business fire risk assessment is designed to provide a comprehensive evaluation of a property that the business owns or operates in. The risk assessment should detail the nature of the property and the activities that take place within it.

Then, alongside these details, the assessment should list potential fire hazards, determine their associated level of risk, and explain the best way to manage these risks.

A standard business fire risk assessment will include:

• The name and details of the individual responsible for the businesses fire safety measures
• Identification of all the hazards on the premises – these may include any electrical equipment present on site, the location and types of heating systems, smoking areas, cooking areas, and any flammable materials that are present, for example.
• Potential sources of ignition – these could include areas where there are open flames, electrical equipment or machinery, and smoking areas, for example.
• External risk factors – for this section, you will need to consider external factors such as the availability of water (for firefighting), any risks present in neighbouring properties, the distance from your local fire service, and how easy it is for emergency vehicles to access your site, for example.
• The emergency escape routes present in your premises
• The fire detection and warning systems present in your premises
• The fire-fighting equipment present in your premises
• Details of the maintenance of your fire-fighting equipment – this includes an outline of the servicing timeline of your fire protection equipment, and what you are doing to ensure that it is kept up-to-date. You should also evidence that they are being used appropriately, with details specifying how they are being correctly located, and their suitability for the types of fire risks in that area.
• Staff training – this includes details (and an ongoing assessment of) the fire safety training that you are providing to your employees and the emergency procedures that you have in place. You should also include an assessment of your team’s knowledge of your evacuation procedures, fire hazards and ability to use fire-fighting equipment.
• Documentation and record-keeping – this includes previous inspections, staff training records, and fire safety equipment maintenance records, for example.
• Ongoing reviews, assessments and improvements – you should evidence that you are reviewing and evolving your risk assessment on an ongoing basis, in order to ensure that your safety measures remain as effective and thorough as possible.

Although risk assessments will vary from business to business – depending on the local regulations, the industry they are in, the nature of the operations they are conducting, the size of their building, and other specific requirements – these elements form the basis of most business fire risk assessments.

Why are fire risk assessments so important for businesses?

As you can see, fire risk assessments are no small task. But, although they may be time consuming, you cannot underestimate their importance.

The reasons why fire risk assessments are so important for businesses include:

• Keeping employees, customers and site visitors as safe as possible
• Ensuring your business remains legally compliant – often, fire risk assessments are a legal requirement for businesses
• Minimising the likelihood of a fire occurring
• Protecting your property from the risk of damage
• Helping to future-proof your business – the impact of a fire on a business can be absolutely devastating. Fires can result in massive operational delays, extensive financial losses, poor customer experiences and even businesses going under. So, minimising this risk is a critical part of future-proofing your business.
• Preserving staff retention (as they have more confidence in you, and your prioritisation of their wellbeing)
• Fulfilling your insurance requirements
• Potentially bringing down your insurance premiums (more on this below)

Why is having a fire risk assessment so important for business insurance?

The primary value of fire risk assessments is that they help businesses to ensure that they are operating as safely as possible.

Beyond the immediate benefits of protecting your staff and site visitors, this approach is also highly valued by insurance providers.

There are a number of key reasons why having a fire risk assessment is important for business insurance:

• It can be used as part of the insurance provider’s underwriting process
• It can be used to facilitate the claims process
• It can be used to demonstrate that your businesses has fulfilled its duty of care
• In many cases, it can help to speed up the claims settlement process
• It helps insurers to assess the level of risk within your business, and so choose the best type of coverage, and the appropriate premium to offer
• By demonstrating your risk mitigation, you can be viewed more favourably by insurance providers
• This evidence can contribute to lower insurance premiums, or more beneficial insurance terms

Will a fire risk assessment lower by business insurance?

As you can see, if your business fire risk assessment is sufficiently detailed, and demonstrates your ongoing commitment to fire safety, then it can potentially bring your insurance premiums down.

We can’t say for certain, and we are not giving any insurance advice – but it’s clear to say that not having a fire risk assessment could mean your business may not be eligible for insurance.

If you have any further questions about commercial fire safety or fire risk assessments, Target Fire Protection has a dedicated team of fire safety specialists, who are on hand to help.