Skip to main content
The Actuary: The magazine of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries - return to the homepage Logo of The Actuary website
  • Search
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on LinkedIn
  • Visit @TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Visit the website of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries Logo of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

Main navigation

  • News
  • Features
    • General Features
    • Interviews
    • Students
    • Opinion
  • Topics
  • Knowledge
    • Business Skills
    • Careers
    • Events
    • Predictions by The Actuary
    • Whitepapers
    • Moody's - Climate Risk Insurers series
    • Webinars
    • Podcasts
  • Jobs
  • IFoA
    • CEO Comment
    • IFoA News
    • People & Social News
    • President Comment
  • Archive
Quick links:
  • Home
  • The Actuary Issues
  • August 2016
08

Insurers pressure UK government to require sprinklers for warehouses

Open-access content Friday 29th July 2016

Fire sprinklers should be made a legal requirement in all new warehouses larger than 2,000m2, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has said.

2


The organisation is calling for the change as the average payout for commercial fires now exceeds £25,000, a spike of 165% since 2004.

James Dalton, ABI's director of general insurance policy, said: "While the number of fires continues to fall, it is alarming that the average cost is rising so sharply."

Guidance from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) recommends that warehouses in England and Wales should be provided with a fire sprinkler system if they are larger than 20,000m2, but it is not compulsory.

The ABI said this meant only 20% of warehouses between 2,000 and 10,000m2 are fitted with fire sprinklers, according to the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Associations.

Dalton said the country's approach to sprinklers "remains stuck in the past", as this year marks the 350th commemoration of the Great Fire of London. 

"As the Great Fire so strongly demonstrated, failure to prepare buildings to withstand fire can lead to large scale destruction," he said.

"The benefits of sprinklers are clear and it is time to make them a compulsory part of every high-risk building, particularly warehouses."

According to the ABI, legislation is in place in a number of European countries for commercial and industrial properties with significantly smaller sizes than that proposed in current government guidelines. 


Examples are:

Netherlands - 1,000m2

Austria - 1,800m2

Belgium - 5,000m2

France - 3,000m2

This article appeared in our August 2016 issue of The Actuary .
Click here to view this issue

You may also be interested in...

home

Home insurance premiums lowest in four years

The cost of the average combined buildings and contents insurance policy in the last quarter is at its lowest point since they began collecting data in Q4 2012, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said today.
Thursday 18th August 2016
Open-access content
2

Commercial insurers vulnerable to passporting risk

Commercial insurers are most exposed to the risk of losing passporting rights following the UK’s decision to leave the EU, data provider Timetric has warned.
Wednesday 24th August 2016
Open-access content
2

Nearly nine in 10 homeowners struggle to understand home insurance

Home insurance is too complicated for 85% of UK homeowners, according to a survey by UKDN Waterflow.
Friday 29th July 2016
Open-access content
2

Car and house premiums rise but 'lose steam'

Car premiums have started to increase in price while those for homes have continued their upward trend, the AA has said.
Friday 5th August 2016
Open-access content
2

BIBA says insurance industry success at risk without tariff-free EU trade

Insurance brokers have put the retention of ‘passporting’ at the top of their list of 11 concerns following the EU referendum.
Friday 5th August 2016
Open-access content
2

Insurance Act 2015 will have 'minimal impact' on firms, says S&P

The Insurance Act 2015 will not affect the ratings of UK insurers, according to Standard & Poor's (S&P).
Tuesday 16th August 2016
Open-access content

Latest from General Insurance

td

Brain power

The latest microchips mimic cerebral function. Smaller, faster and more efficient than their predecessors, they have the potential to save lives and help insurers, argues Amarnath Suggu
Wednesday 1st March 2023
Open-access content
bl

'Takaful' models of Islamic insurance

Ethical, varied and a growing market – ‘takaful’ Islamic insurance is worth knowing about, wherever you’re from and whatever your beliefs, says Ali Asghar Bhuriwala
Wednesday 1st February 2023
Open-access content
il

When 'human' isn't female

It was only last year that the first anatomically correct female crash test dummy was created. With so much data still based on the male perspective, are we truly meeting all consumer needs? Adél Drew discusses her thoughts, based on the book Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez
Wednesday 1st February 2023
Open-access content

Latest from August 2016

wfh

Treasury announces plans for £500 tax-free pensions advice allowance

Savers will be able to take up to £500 out of their pensions tax-free to put towards the cost of financial advice from April 2017, economic secretary to the Treasury Simon Kirby has said.
Wednesday 31st August 2016
Open-access content
tailored

Decisions under pension freedoms should be made simpler, says IFoA

More should be done to simplify the decision-making process for consumers accessing pension freedoms, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) said today.
Wednesday 31st August 2016
Open-access content
13

Ros Altmann 'horrified' by BoE economist's opinion on pensions

Consumer champion Ros Altmann has criticised Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane for not appreciating the pension as a savings vehicle.
Tuesday 30th August 2016
Open-access content

Latest from small_opening_image

2

COVID-19 forum for actuaries launched

A forum for actuaries has been launched to help the profession come together and learn how best to respond to the deadly coronavirus sweeping the world.
Wednesday 25th March 2020
Open-access content
2

Travel insurers expect record payouts this year

UK travel insurers expect to pay a record £275m to customers this year as coronavirus grounds flights across the world, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has revealed.
Wednesday 25th March 2020
Open-access content
2

Grim economic forecasts made as countries lockdown

A sharp recession is imminent in the vast majority of developed and emerging economies as the deadly coronavirus forces businesses to shut down across the world.
Tuesday 24th March 2020
Open-access content

Latest from inline_local_link

2

COVID-19 forum for actuaries launched

A forum for actuaries has been launched to help the profession come together and learn how best to respond to the deadly coronavirus sweeping the world.
Wednesday 25th March 2020
Open-access content
2

Travel insurers expect record payouts this year

UK travel insurers expect to pay a record £275m to customers this year as coronavirus grounds flights across the world, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has revealed.
Wednesday 25th March 2020
Open-access content
2

Grim economic forecasts made as countries lockdown

A sharp recession is imminent in the vast majority of developed and emerging economies as the deadly coronavirus forces businesses to shut down across the world.
Tuesday 24th March 2020
Open-access content

Latest from 08

wfh

Treasury announces plans for £500 tax-free pensions advice allowance

Savers will be able to take up to £500 out of their pensions tax-free to put towards the cost of financial advice from April 2017, economic secretary to the Treasury Simon Kirby has said.
Wednesday 31st August 2016
Open-access content
tailored

Decisions under pension freedoms should be made simpler, says IFoA

More should be done to simplify the decision-making process for consumers accessing pension freedoms, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) said today.
Wednesday 31st August 2016
Open-access content
13

Ros Altmann 'horrified' by BoE economist's opinion on pensions

Consumer champion Ros Altmann has criticised Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane for not appreciating the pension as a savings vehicle.
Tuesday 30th August 2016
Open-access content
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Latest Jobs

Leading Insurer/Asset Manager – Pricing Actuary (Mortgages)

London (Greater)
Competitive
Reference
148750

Senior Consultant - Risk Settlement - Any UK Location - Up to £100,000 plus bonus

London / Manchester / Edinburgh / Remote
Up to £100,000 + Bonus
Reference
148832

Finance Transformation Actuarial student/Qualified Actuary

London (Central)
£50,000 - £75,000 depending on experience
Reference
148830
See all jobs »
 
 
 
 

Sign up to our newsletter

News, jobs and updates

Sign up

Subscribe to The Actuary

Receive the print edition straight to your door

Subscribe
Spread-iPad-slantB-june.png

Topics

  • Data Science
  • Investment
  • Risk & ERM
  • Pensions
  • Environment
  • Soft skills
  • General Insurance
  • Regulation Standards
  • Health care
  • Technology
  • Reinsurance
  • Global
  • Life insurance
​
FOLLOW US
The Actuary on LinkedIn
@TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Facebook: The Actuary Magazine
CONTACT US
The Actuary
Tel: (+44) 020 7880 6200
​

IFoA

About IFoA
Become an actuary
IFoA Events
About membership

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Think Green

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to The Actuary Magazine
Contribute

The Actuary Jobs

Actuarial job search
Pensions jobs
General insurance jobs
Solvency II jobs

© 2023 The Actuary. The Actuary is published on behalf of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries by Redactive Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part is not allowed without written permission.

Redactive Media Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ