BinderDoes my restaurant insurance require hood cleaning?
Frequently yes, through a specific endorsement most operators have never read. Unlike almost everything else in this area, you can settle this question yourself today by looking at your own policy for a named form.
What to look for
Commercial property policies in the United States are commonly built on standard ISO forms. One of them is the Protective Safeguards endorsement, carried on form number CP 04 11 for commercial property. A similar provision exists on IL 04 15.
The endorsement carries a schedule listing protective systems by symbol. The ones that matter to a commercial kitchen:
- P-1, automatic sprinkler system.
- P-2, automatic fire alarm.
- P-5, automatic commercial cooking exhaust and extinguishing system. This is your hood and its suppression.
Search your policy document for "Protective Safeguards", for "CP 04 11", or for "P-5". Your broker can also tell you in one phone call whether the endorsement is on your policy and which symbols are scheduled.
What the endorsement actually says
Where it applies, the insured is required to maintain the scheduled protective safeguards in complete working order, and to keep any automatic fire alarm engaged. Where those conditions are not met, the endorsement operates to suspend coverage for loss caused by fire.
There is also a practical allowance worth knowing. Where part of a sprinkler or cooking exhaust and extinguishing system is out of service because of breakage, leakage, freezing or opened sprinkler heads, notifying the insurer is generally not required if full protection is restored within 48 hours.
The distinction that matters, stated carefully
The endorsement requires the system to be maintained. It does not, by its own terms, require you to keep paperwork. Those are two different obligations and it is worth being precise about the difference, because a number of articles on this subject are not.
The reason records matter anyway is evidential. If a fire loss is disputed, the question becomes whether the system was in working order and maintained, and service records are ordinarily the only way anybody can answer that after the equipment has burned. Having no records does not automatically decide the question against you. It does remove your ability to answer it.
Put plainly, the endorsement determines what is covered, and your records determine what you can demonstrate.
Three questions worth asking your broker
- Is a Protective Safeguards endorsement on this policy, and which symbols are scheduled?
- What service interval does the carrier expect for the scheduled systems, and is it stated anywhere in writing?
- If a claim were made, what documentation would the carrier expect to see, and how far back?
The second question is the useful one, because a carrier's expected interval can be shorter than what your fire code requires. Where they differ, the shorter one is the one that governs your coverage, and the fire code will not help you in a claim.
This page describes what published standards say. It is not legal advice and it is not a determination about any premises. The requirements that apply to your building, including how often work must be done and what must be kept, are set by your authority having jurisdiction, which is usually your local fire marshal or health department. Where this page and your inspector disagree, your inspector is right.
This page describes standard industry forms in general terms. It is not a reading of your policy, and it is not insurance advice. Only your own policy document and your broker can tell you what applies to you.
Keeping this straight without thinking about it
Binder keeps dated service history for each system against each location, which is the form the question gets asked in. When a broker or an adjuster asks how far back the cleaning history goes, the answer is a link rather than a search through several years of email.
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