Underwriters May Ask More Questions In Wake Of Brazil Nightclub Fire
Meg Green |
The nightclub fire that killed 235 people in
The fire, which has generated a huge public outcry in
The fire in
"After
The
In
"Businesses have been closed down in several cities as a result. This may be a knee-jerk reaction but greater awareness among the populace should ensure better adherence to fire safety in the future," he said in an email.
In the short term, there may be a spike in insurance rates if insurers were unaware of lax fire controls at some businesses in
A wide range of insurance policies are likely to be triggered by such a fire, and everyone involved with the nightclub is likely to be sued, Chippendale said.
Property claims for the building, sound equipment and musical instruments can be extensive, but are usually dwarfed by the liability claims stemming from a fatal fire. Lawsuits are likely to name everyone from the manufacturer of the sound-proofing material and the person who installed it to the security company working the event to the club owners and the band itself, Chippendale said.
"Even a beer company with its name on the napkins can get sued," he said.
HSB's professional loss control unit considers a building's construction, the use of combustible materials, the placement and maintenance of fire extinguishers, the presence of sprinklers and the condition of the electrical system.
"If a building has sprinklers, it might not prevent a fire from starting but it may help control it," Jablonski said.
Doodson Insurance Brokerage of
Chippendale said he'd find it hard to believe that a nightclub fire like this could happen in
"There's going to be accidents no matter how much planning you do, but if that one thing happens and everything else is done right, it will be a minimal amount of casualties versus a catastrophic event," he said. "That doesn't mean there isn't a rogue band that starts shooting fireworks...all the planning in the world can't prevent that. But if you have fire-resistant material around the stage, it will be a nuisance, not a fatal day."
Hartford Steam Boiler, a subsidiary of
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Copyright: | (c) 2013 A.M. Best Company, Inc. |
Source: | A.M. Best Company, Inc. |
Wordcount: | 728 |
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