The document is based on The Building Regulations 2010: Sanitation, hot water safety, water efficiency and aims to provide loss prevention guidance for those who design, install and commission plumbing and water-based suppression systems in domestic and commercial buildings.
Escape of water events can displace people from their homes, incur great disruption, significant property damage, financial cost and, in some instances even lead to businesses failing. Poorly designed and installed systems can also lead to serious personal injury and death through scalding.
Best practice with respect to the design and the installation of various plumbing systems is well established having been developed over the years in consultation with industry and manufacturers through the various iterations of The Building Regulations Approved Document Guidance and the British Standards. Despite their technical detail, escape of water events remain the most costly peril faced by insurers in the domestic and residential environment.
Changes in housing construction methods, construction materials, and water system products may also be impacting greatly upon the scale of loss, and where additional water-based systems are specified for the purposes of fire suppression or green energy capture, accredited systems ensuring competence and product performance will be required to ensure they do not exacerbate losses in the future.
This first edition of ‘Approved Document G incorporating insurers’ requirements’ seeks to enhance site practices and reinforces what should already be happening by collating pertinent regulations and guidance in a single document. The guide also identifies roles and responsibilities to aid the various project stakeholders understand the delivery components of safe and reliable water delivery systems.
The additional information relating to property protection has been developed through RISCAuthority. The technical expertise has been provided by the FPA, external consultants and experts from the insurance industry, who together form the various RISCAuthority Steering Groups. Although produced with insurer input, it does not (and is not intended to) represent a pan-insurer perspective. Individual insurance companies will have their own requirements, which may be different from, or not reflected in, the content of this document.
The guide is freely available to download and reinforces information from The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, various British Standards, and literature published by various manufacturers. It also introduces additional guidance where deemed lacking.
RISCAuthority is an annually funded research scheme supported by a significant group of UK insurers. Its research supports the development and dissemination of best practice with the goal of better protecting properties and businesses.
Please be aware that considerable efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this article at the time of publication, however any legislative (or other) changes that come into effect after this may render the information out of date until it is reviewed and updated as part of the FPA’s content review cycle.