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INSURER REQUIREMENTS

Introduction
Building Regulations and supporting Approved Documents, or Technical Standards [in Scotland], are intended for the protection of the lives of building occupants and those in and around the building, but not for property protection or for the survival of the business occupying a building.
Insurer fire tests and requirements are wholly intended for cost effective fire protection of the building and for minimising any business interruption from fire.

Fire Tests
The insurer focus is on containing a fire to the room of origin, preventing premature collapse and minimising any progressive collapse, so as to be back in business the day after any fire.

As a result, the Fire Resistance requirements are sometimes higher than those demanded by governments.

In the case of Reaction to Fire, insurers requirements tend to be based on the performance in fire of 'full-scale' assemblies of building components. These larger fire tests are to be compared with the 'small-scale' fire tests on individual product samples as referenced in government guidance in Approved Document B - Fire Safety, which supports Building Regulations.

Information
The following pages provide more information on insurer requirements:

• The LPC Design Guide for the fire protection of buildings
• Compartmentation and Insurers
• Protected zones
• LPC construction design sheets
• LPC code of practice for fire protection in the food and drink industry
• Insurers fire tests
- LPS Standards
- FM Global standards

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