Insurance Inspections

Date: 12.10.22

Statutory examinations of lifting and pressure plant and local exhaust ventilation systems (LEV) are often referred to as ‘insurance inspections’, whilst a number of large insurance companies offer this type of service as part of their insurance package, it is not exclusive to insurers and many independent engineering companies, such as CTS Safety, can offer examination services to satisfy the requirements of relevant legislation.

In the mid-19th century, the first engineering insurance company was formed initially covering steam boilers used in factories but soon extended to all pressure vessels.  Insurance cover required that inspections were carried out on their equipment (boilers) to ensure that they were safe.  It was not a statutory requirement to have examinations carried out until the Factories & Workshops Act 1901 where it required that all boilers ‘must be examined thoroughly by a competent person at least once in every 14-months’. As the insurance companies already had the expertise, they continued to offer thorough examination services which went on to cover other equipment, such as lifting plant, where a statutory requirement was introduced through legislation.

A thorough examination is a statutory requirement for equipment which fall under Lifting Operations & Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER), Pressure Systems Safety Regulations (PSSR) and The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH).  A report is provided identifying whether equipment is or is not safe to use.

Current regulations still detail that statutory thorough examinations must be carried out by a ‘competent’ person and not necessarily the insurance company.