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Association of British Insurers submission of 26 January 2022

PE1910/E – Amend the forthcoming legal requirement to have interlinked fire and smoke alarms in small houses

I see that the Committee has received correspondence on the above petition which refers to home insurance and interlinked fire and smoke alarms.

https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/committees/current-and-previous-committees/session-6-citizen-participation-and-public-petitions-committee/correspondence/pe1910/pe1910_d-petitioner-submission-of-17-january-2022

The Association of British Insurers has published guidance for householders on our website here and the ABI would encourage people to install interlinked alarms so that they can evacuate their home safely in the event of a fire. Our member firms are aware of the new regulations coming into force and are unlikely to invalidate a home insurance claim for existing customers who haven’t yet complied with the new law in Scotland. Anyone who is unclear on their policy terms and conditions should speak to their insurer.

The ABI also discussed this issue with the Scottish Government and I would refer the Committee to its advice set out below:

Different home insurance policies will have different terms and conditions which a homeowner must comply with in order for their home insurance to be valid.  If you are not sure how the new fire and smoke alarm requirements affect your policy, get in touch with your insurer to find out.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/fire-and-smoke-alarms-in-scottish-homes/

I hope this is helpful for the Committee and the petitioner.