TR19 audits for insurers

Why insurers ask about TR19

Kitchen extract fires can spread through a building’s ductwork, and insurers know it. BESA notes that many insurers require proof of regular cleaning and inspection, and that many policies explicitly require adherence to TR19® (BESA: kitchen extract system cleaning). Without that evidence, a claim can be refused or reduced.

TR19® itself is not law. The legal duty sits with the responsible person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. But TR19 is the benchmark most insurers look to, so it’s what your evidence should show.

What a TR19 audit covers

• Your records: certificates, photo reports and dates, checked for gaps and for missing parts of the system.
• The system: traced from canopy to discharge, with access points noted.
• Grease readings: taken by WFTT or DTT at set points and compared with BESA guidance.
• Inaccessible sections: parts of the duct that can’t be reached, and what would be needed to reach them.
• Cleaning interval: whether the current frequency suits your hours of cooking and the readings.
• Related items: fire dampers, filters and odour control, where they form part of the system.

We look at the system and the paperwork together, because an insurer will want both to tell the same story. A certificate is only as useful as the clean behind it.

What you get

A report you can share with your insurer or broker, setting out the condition of the system with photos, the readings, a summary of your cleaning history, any gaps or concerns and our recommendations. It is written plainly, so anyone reading it can see what was found.

We don’t work for or on behalf of any insurer, and we can’t tell you what your policy requires. Check your policy wording or ask your broker, then tell us what they’ve asked for and we’ll make sure the audit covers it.

If your insurer or broker has sent you a list of questions or a survey form, send it to us when you ask for a quote. We’ll make sure the audit gathers what they’ve asked for, and tell you plainly if anything on the list falls outside what we do.

Common gaps we find

• Cleans further apart than BESA’s minimum frequency for the kitchen’s hours.
• Certificates with no photos, or photos of the canopy only.
• Inaccessible sections recorded year after year with no access panels fitted.
• No grease readings, so the interval has never been checked.
• Missing certificates after a change of manager or contractor.

Most of these are straightforward to fix once they’re known. Our article on what insurers want from TR19 explains more.

We’ll list each gap with a suggested fix, in a sensible order, so you know what to tackle first and what can wait.

When to book an audit

• Before a policy renewal, or when an insurer or broker asks for evidence.
• When you take over a kitchen or a building with a kitchen.
• When records are incomplete or you’re not sure the last clean covered the whole system.
• When you manage several sites and want a consistent picture across all of them.

An audit is also a sensible first step if you’re not sure where to start. It shows what’s in good order, what needs attention and in what order, so you can plan cleaning, access panels and damper testing with a clear picture rather than a guess.

Keeping it right afterwards

An audit is a snapshot. To keep your evidence complete, book cleans at the right interval, keep every certificate and photo report together, and fit access panels where sections can’t be reached. A maintenance contract keeps the dates and the paperwork on track. Our TR19 certificates page explains what each certificate should show.

If the audit shows the cleaning interval is too long for your hours of cooking or your grease readings, change it now rather than waiting for the next renewal. Each clean after that adds another certificate and photo report to the record.

What it costs

We don’t publish prices. It depends on the size of the system, how many sites are involved and how much record checking is needed. We’ll give you a fixed quote, usually within one working day.