Table of Contents
- What to do to Help Mitigate Losses
- What to do if a Loss Occurs
- Extra Protection for Your Commercial Building
Although intended to mitigate losses due to fire, sprinkler systems found in commercial buildings such as offices, warehouses, retail, manufacturing plants or care facilities can themselves be a hazard.
The most obvious risk may be fire damage if a sprinkler does not function properly but there’s also water damage caused to the building and equipment such as CNC machines or computer servers when the sprinklers work as intended.
This can also lead to mold and rot if the water is not immediately taken care of. Liability exists for manufacturers of sprinkler equipment due to possible product failures and also contractors for poor installations or inadequate maintenance. Systems are especially susceptible in the freezing season–particularly if portions of the building are not heated and/or a dry sprinkler system is not in use.
What to do to Help Mitigate Losses
- Know potential exposures and maintenance requirements for the building’s sprinkler system.
- Conduct frequent inspections and maintenance of the sprinkler system and document all instances thoroughly.
- Take photos of the building interior and equipment/contents to establish their condition prior to any loss.
- If you’re a contractor, send trusted professionals to perform drainage jobs and keep thorough records of testing.
- If you’re a contractor, research the type of jobs you accept. Are all employees qualified and experienced to perform the work? Drainage of sprinkler systems with a freezing exposure should be done by senior professionals.
- Contractor installation, testing, inspection, and maintenance of sprinkler systems must be performed thoroughly and well documented.
- Manufacturers of sprinkler system components have a large liability exposure if a part malfunctions. Product quality measures should be in place.
What to do if a Loss Occurs
- Contact your insurer as soon as possible: They may want to send an engineer to assess the cause and/or quantify damages. Time and attempted repairs can hinder the quality of an assessment.
- Take photographs of all damage immediately after the loss, the more detailed the better.
- Ensure any failed components of a sprinkler system are retained for engineering analysis. An example would be all broken pieces of a burst sprinkler head.
Extra Protection for Your Commercial Building
Bundling together protection for your physical assets, business income, liability, and employees, the Commercial Building Owners Connection™ offers best-in-class protection that lets you focus on running your business knowing you are backed by Unica’s best-in-class coverage and services.
For information on insuring your commercial property with Unica Insurance, speak to a Broker.
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