Lack of adequate fire protection is causing in excess of half a billion pounds worth of fire damage and associated interruption costs to British businesses every year, revealed a study by Royal & SunAlliance (R&SA).
The study found that of over 40,000 recorded commercial fires, less than half the premises had fire alarms, fewer than 10% had sprinkler systems and hardly any had a pre-planned recovery strategy in place.
R&SA estimated that if sprinklers alone had been installed, the cost of physical damage could have been reduced by more than 80%.
The insurer also estimated that the average commercial fire will put many businesses out of operation for a minimum of two weeks, some for many months and, for the unfortunate few, permanently.
In addition to the damage to property and people, there are also considerable hidden costs, such as, reduced output, disaffected key staff, loss of customers and market share, and the impact upon brand value, reputation and share price, said R&SA. The goodwill that a business can lose if its trade is badly disrupted can take years to recover.
R&SA underwriting director, property Graham Heale, said: “We advise over 18,000 businesses every year on fire risks to their property, and as a result have seen claims steadily fall, however the effects of fire damage can be devastating.
“The message is simple – install a sprinkler and a fire alarm and it could make the difference between saving your business or putting you out of business.”
