Regular sprinkler inspections can help protect your residents, preserve valuable insurance credits, and prevent a costly surprise when it’s time to file a claim.

In California, fire sprinklers have been required in newly constructed multi-family dwellings and condominiums for decades. Most insurance carriers also provide credits, or discounts, for buildings with fire sprinkler systems, provided those systems are properly maintained and pass required inspections.

Despite this, many condominium associations pass the responsibility for maintaining fire sprinklers on to individual unit owners and don’t require regular inspections.

This can create some serious problems for the association. Let’s look at three of the biggest.

1. No Inspection May Mean No Insurance Credit

We all know insurance premiums have been skyrocketing over the past several years, so the fact that discounts may be available and aren’t always being taken advantage of is surprising.

Many insurance carriers offer credits for buildings protected by properly maintained fire sprinkler systems. But simply having sprinklers isn’t necessarily enough. The systems need to be maintained, inspected, and documented according to the carrier’s requirements for the association to qualify for those credits.

Yes, coordinating sprinkler inspections throughout a condominium community can be complicated. Scheduling access to individual units, communicating with homeowners, and keeping track of inspection records all take time.

But when insurance premiums are already putting pressure on association budgets, the resulting discounts can be substantial and are certainly worth exploring.

2. Safety Should Really Be Number One

Second—and this point really should be first—the safety of the membership should always be a top priority.

Fire sprinklers are there for a reason.

It would be tragic if a fire occurred and a sprinkler system didn’t operate as intended because it hadn’t been properly inspected or maintained. Regular inspections can identify problems before an emergency and help ensure that these systems are ready to work when they’re needed most.

Insurance savings are important. Protecting lives is more important.

3. Buckle Up and Pay Attention to This One

Third—and this is a big one, so buckle up and pay attention—many insurance carriers include language in their policies stating that failure to properly maintain fire protection systems can potentially affect coverage following a loss.

These provisions are often found in what’s known as a Protective Safeguards Endorsement.

Protective Safeguards Endorsements may apply to automatic fire sprinkler systems, fire alarms, security services, and other protective systems. The exact requirements and policy language vary by insurance carrier, which makes it especially important to understand what your particular policy requires.

And here’s where things can get tricky.

These endorsements can sometimes be buried deep within the policy and easily overlooked. Depending on the language, the policy may require certain protective systems to remain operational and properly maintained. It may also impose requirements if the association becomes aware that one of those systems is impaired or isn’t functioning correctly.

Failing to comply with those requirements could potentially jeopardize coverage for a subsequent loss.

In other words, discovering after a fire that your association didn’t comply with a policy requirement is not when you want to learn about your Protective Safeguards Endorsement.

“But the Sprinklers Are the Homeowner’s Responsibility”

That’s an argument associations need to be careful relying on.

Even if governing documents assign certain maintenance responsibilities to individual homeowners, that doesn’t necessarily change the requirements contained in the association’s insurance policy.

Using the excuse “they aren’t our responsibility to maintain” may not get you out of a coverage problem, just as assigning responsibility for dangerous electrical panels inside individual units doesn’t necessarily eliminate the broader risk to the community.

If your insurance carrier requires the systems to be inspected or maintained as a condition of coverage, the association needs to understand exactly what is required and have a process for making sure it gets done.

Don’t Treat Fire Sprinklers as Just Another Maintenance Item

Failure to maintain fire sprinkler systems and alarms is worse than ordinary deferred maintenance.

Lives could literally be at risk.

There can also be financial consequences. An association could miss out on valuable insurance credits, discover previously unidentified problems with its sprinkler system, or potentially encounter coverage issues after a fire.

That’s why boards and community managers should know:

• Who is responsible for inspecting and maintaining the sprinkler systems
• When the systems were last inspected
• Whether deficiencies identified during an inspection were corrected
• What documentation is being maintained
• Whether the association is receiving all available insurance credits
• Whether the insurance policy contains a Protective Safeguards Endorsement
• Exactly what that endorsement requires of the association
• If you don’t know the answers to those questions, now is a good time to find out.

If your community contains fire alarms or fire sprinklers, this is your sign to get them inspected.