Winter is coming…

Plan ahead for colder conditions

As the weather turns and the summer months are (sadly) behind us, it makes sense to plan for the change in weather that comes with the colder seasons and winter months.

To help you get prepared, we’ve compiled a number of protective measures you could consider taking to help prepare your commercial property for cold conditions:

• Have a professional plumber check your plumbing joints for leaks. Hidden pipes, out of sight are often forgotten and pay special attention to any green discolouration on copper pipes – this could be a sign of a leak.
• Check the insulation around your pipes to protect them from freezing.
• Test your water supply stopcock to prevent it from stiffening. It is a good idea to do this periodically throughout the year.
• Perform a comprehensive risk assessment to evaluate ice, flood and snow hazards, including significant slippages of snow from sloping roofs or roof collapse from the weight of the snow.
• Ensure your Business Continuity Plan (BCP) or Disaster Recovery Plan is up to date and caters for winter-specific conditions.
• Check any manufacturing processes and materials that could be affected by change in temperatures.
• Check roofs, gutters and drains to make sure they’re in good working order. Don’t forget to follow the duties and precautions under the Work at Height Regulations even if the person carrying out the work is not your employee.
• Review any fire risk assessment; if you need to provide any additional heating solutions, remember to inform your insurance intermediary or broker.

For the external parts of your property, consider:

• Implement non-slip safety measures, for example gritting walkways and carparks. Also, remember that hard floors in entrance areas often become very slippery during wet or snowy weather.
• Check the exterior lighting around your premises; with less hours of daylight, it will be harder for employees and visitors to see any potential obstacles and icy and other slippery areas.

Whilst this information is not fully comprehensive, we hope it give you some direction for the key things to check with the change in weather.

Kerry London are here to help you. Our team are available to assist you with any insurance related issues or concerns, simply get in touch on: 01923 603 651 or info@kerrylondon.co.uk.

Categories: Risk Insights, Uncategorised,