Cladding: questions from clients

Following the recent tragedy at Grenfell Tower, there has been a considerable amount of publicity around the reported failure of safety tests across a number of other properties, with concerns being raised regarding the standard of materials used, and a general confusion around applicable building standards and the route to compliance with those standards. Whilst attention is centred on tower blocks and hotels, it is likely that safety concerns may be at the forefront of the minds of your Clients for any project involving cladding. 

As a result, you may be contacted by Clients with questions or requests for information about the specification and use of cladding on their projects, and you may be concerned at the potential implications/action you should take in connection with your Professional Indemnity Insurance.  

General requests for information would not be notifiable to insurers, however, should  you receive a request directly from the Client raising concerns about the product specified, we would ask that you contact us, and forward any correspondence you may have received to us before you issue a response. This will give us an opportunity to discuss matters with you and your Insurers to ensure that they are in agreement with any proposed response. 

If you have any concerns about any of your current or previous projects, we would suggest that you undertake a review of the files relating to those projects to ensure that the products have been correctly specified and used in accordance with the Manufacturers Specifications. If this identifies any issues, please let us know as soon as possible so we can contact Insurers to discuss how best to approach the situation with the affected Clients. 

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it should be remembered that the terms of your professional indemnity insurance prohibit you from making any admissions of liability to the Clients. While we can appreciate that you may wish to help the Clients and mitigate any potential problems, any admissions made without Insurers prior approval could impact on the cover available under the policy. 

If you would like to discuss matters further please contact our Claims and Risk Management Department on 0161 236 2532.