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Insurers tighten underwriting of sprinkler types in senior living
Insurers are shifting from a simple sprinklered versus unsprinklered view to evaluating NFPA 13R and 13D design limits, concealed spaces, water supply and maintenance history.
Underwriters are increasingly differentiating between sprinkler system standards when pricing senior living risk, according to a whitepaper from Gallagher Property Risk Engineering.
The report says insurers are no longer treating properties as simply “sprinklered” or “unsprinklered,” and instead are scrutinizing system type, non-sprinklered concealed spaces, water supply adequacy, and maintenance and impairment history.
Gallagher notes that many senior living communities use NFPA 13R systems due to cost advantages and code allowances, but that these systems are often not designed to prevent large property losses when fires occur in concealed spaces or detection is delayed. By contrast, NFPA 13 systems are intended to control or suppress fires across a wider range of scenarios, while NFPA 13D systems, designed primarily for one- and two-family dwellings, are typically restricted in senior living settings.
The whitepaper also cites industry loss data indicating that concealed-space fires or incomplete sprinkler coverage can drive disproportionately large claims. As a result, senior living operators are seeing more underwriting questions and engineering reviews, higher deductibles or retentions for less robust systems, reduced capacity from some carriers, and stronger expectations for documented risk-improvement plans, with Gallagher cautioning that code compliance should not be equated with adequate protection.