29 Mar 2010

The ABI published their report 'Tackling Fire: A Call for Action'
The ABI have published a report entitled 'Tackling Fire: A Call for Action' which expresses the concerns of the insurance industry that even though the numbers of fires in the UK has fallen, the costs of fires have risen. The report concludes that the current challenging economic climate is likely to have a significant impact on the number and cost of fires and has the potential to have an impact on the number of deaths and injuries which result from fire.

The insurance industry is increasingly concerned about rising fire losses: the cost of fire damage in 2008 in the UK rose by 16% on 2007 to a record £1.3 billion - £3.4 million every day. This is at a time when the number of fires has been falling, but the cost of these has been increasing: the average cost of fire claims more than doubled between 2002 and 2008.

BAFSA members will not be surprised to find that one of the report's principle recommendations calls for wider use of sprinklers:

"A wide-ranging review of the case for sprinklers and effective fire compartments in new buildings should be jointly led by the UK administrations in the light of the increasing cost of fire. Independent Project Boards involving officials and stakeholders such as insurers, the business, education, care home and health sectors and the fire industry should oversee the work, which should also examine international experience. The work should include residential buildings, warehouses and other single storey buildings and should include other uses like care homes, schools and hospitals".

A copy of the report can be downloaded here.

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