B&ES WARN THAT INSURERS MAY REJECT CLAIMS FOR FIRE DAMAGE CAUSED BY GREASE BUILD-UP IN EXTRACT SYSTEMS
B&ES, the Building & Engineering Services Association, warn there is growing evidence that insurers are rejecting fire damage claims where the cause is proven to be grease build-up in kitchen extract systems. Insurers may reject claims based on “negligence” whether on the part of the business owner who fails to ensure there is a correct maintenance regime in place or the non-competence of personnel (including outside contractors) that have carried out inadequate cleaning.
13 December 2012 – B&ES, the Building & Engineering Services Association, warns there is growing evidence that insurers are rejecting fire damage claims where the cause is proven to be grease build-up in kitchen extract systems. Insurers may reject claims based on “negligence” whether on the part of the business owner who fails to ensure there is a correct cleaning regime in place or the non-competence of personnel (including outside contractors) that have carried out any cleaning.
Bob Towse, Head of Technical and Safety at B&ES, comments, “Our member firms are regularly called to testify as expert witnesses in cases where fires have broken out in kitchens and then spread along grease-laden ductwork to other parts of the building.
“It is not uncommon to discover that the kitchen extract system has never been cleaned since the ductwork was installed. And where owners do commission cleaning, all too often they recruit a local company based on the lowest price offered; yet this is specialist work and typically such generalist cleaners do not have the necessary competence to clean the system in accordance with the industry’s technical guidelines.
“In all these circumstances, whether it’s a complete lack of any maintenance plan or cleaning undertaken by non-competent operatives, insurers will seek to reject claims. This could have devastating financial consequences for the small business owner – a fire damaged premise but no hope of claiming on the business insurance – yet in reality this should not come as a surprise; a proper and correct cleaning regime is almost always a condition of the insurance policy.
“Not only this, but the Health and Safety at Work etc Act requires businesses to have a proper maintenance programme in place and to do all it can to minimise the risk of fire.
“We strongly recommend that any business with a commercial kitchen adheres to the B&ES ‘Guide to Good Practice – Internal Cleanliness of Ventilation Systems’, which is accepted by the ductwork cleaning industry as the standard to follow and is endorsed by the Health and Safety Executive. Carrying out regular inspections and recommissioning is a good way to satisfy insurance companies and regulators that the right steps have been taken to properly clean kitchen extraction and ventilation systems, both to minimise fire risk and also safeguard the health of employees”.
Copies of the B&ES ‘Guide to Good Practice – Internal Cleanliness of Ventilation Systems’ (TR19) is available from the B&ES Publications Unit in Penrith on 01768 860405 or via the B&ES website at: http://www.b-espublications.co.uk.
Ends
Issued on behalf of the Building & Engineering Services Association (B&ES) by Next Step Marketing Ltd
Media enquiries to: Heather Lambert. Tel: 44(0)1256 472020;
Fax: 44(0)1256 471010; E-mail: heather@nextstepmarketing.co.uk
Note to Editors
Since its formation in 1904, B&ES, the Building & Engineering Services Association (formerly the HVCA) has represented the interests of companies engaged in a wide range of building and engineering services disciplines.
B&ES helps its members to build successful businesses by being the leading trade association for integrated building and engineering services and renewable technologies. It is a unifying force that promotes and monitors excellence; provides quality advice, guidance, training and support; generates market-leading thinking; and shapes the commercial environment through active representation.
B&ES members are subject to regular, third-party inspection and assessment of their technical competence and commercial capability, carried out by an independent certification body at least every three years.
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