1 July 2026: the ADB window closes on your renewal

Fourteen weeks. That is how long the Building Safety Regulator, HSE and MHCLG have given the sector to respond to the review of Approved Document B, running from 25 March 2026 to 1 July 2026. If you own hotels or serviced apartments, that window overlaps with your insurance renewal, and the evidence your insurer asks for is about to get harder to produce.

What do the different EWS1 ratings mean for insurance cover? In short: the rating on your external wall system tells the insurer how much risk sits behind the façade, and the evidence you hold tells them whether you can manage it. A rating without the paperwork behind it is a number the underwriter will price against you.

Responsibility for compliance rests with you, while the insurer holds the evidence

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the responsible person for a hotel or serviced apartment block must hold a written fire risk assessment and recorded fire safety arrangements. Since 1 October 2023 that applies regardless of size or purpose, as the fire risk assessment guidance confirms. The Fire and Rescue Authority does not write it for you, and the duty-holder keeps responsibility for whether it meets the law.

At renewal, the insurer is not asking whether you care about fire safety. They are asking what you can put on the table when a loss adjuster, a fire safety officer or a buyer's solicitor asks for it. In a hotel, that table is crowded: guests asleep, staff turnover, kitchens, plant, and a building that may have been converted twice before you bought it.

What falls due month by month, and who owns each item

This is the run-down I would put in front of a director of portfolio. It is not a legal register, but it is the shape of what an insurer will ask to see.

Every month

• Fire door inspections — the Fire Safety Manager or building manager checks self-closers, gaps and signage on every flat entrance and communal door. Hotels fail here because housekeeping props doors open and nobody logs it.
• Emergency lighting flick test — the facilities manager or contracted electrician records the short-duration test. Serviced apartments with back-of-house corridors are the usual gap.
• Fire alarm log review — the Fire Safety Manager reviews false alarms and faults. Insurers read this because it shows whether the system is being managed or ignored.

Every quarter

• Fire drill and staff training records — the general manager or HR lead records who, when and what training. The Scottish audit guidance is explicit that this is reviewed, and English insurers ask the same question.
• Evacuation plan review — the Fire Safety Manager updates the plan for guests with mobility needs, seasonal occupancy and any layout change.
• Preventative and protective measures check — the building manager confirms sprinklers, ventilation and firefighting equipment are in service.

Every six months

• Fire risk assessment review — the responsible person or competent assessor reviews the assessment. A hotel with a new kitchen, a new mezzanine or a new occupancy pattern needs it sooner.
• Portable appliance testing — the facilities manager holds records for every appliance in guest rooms, kitchens and back-of-house.

Every twelve months

• Electrical installation condition report (EICR) — the responsible person commissions a competent person to test the fixed wiring. This is the document insurers ask for first when a fire claim involves an electrical origin.
• Fire detection and warning system test — the Fire Safety Manager holds evidence that a competent person tested the system.
• Sprinkler and ventilation system test — the facilities manager holds the competent person's report.
• EWS1 or equivalent façade evidence — the director of portfolio or asset manager holds the current rating and the supporting inspection. This is the one that decides whether the insurer offers terms at all.

Fixed dates and windows

• 25 March to 1 July 2026 — the Approved Document B consultation window. If you own buildings in England, this is the period in which the guidance that shapes your façade and evacuation obligations is being rewritten. The review of Approved Document B covers combustible materials in external walls and a new requirement for evacuation lifts.
• 21 days from a formal notice — in Scotland, the person in charge may appeal to the Sheriff's Court within 21 days. That is not a renewal item, but it is the deadline that bites if an audit goes wrong.

What the inspector actually looks at in a hotel or serviced apartment

A fire safety audit in Scotland takes around 1.5 to 3 hours depending on size and complexity, according to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The documents reviewed include the fire risk assessment, action plans, emergency evacuation plans, fire drills and staff training records, maintenance records, and information about previous fire history or false alarms.

In a hotel, the inspector will walk the corridors where guests sleep, check the fire doors they would use, and ask the duty manager to produce the last drill record. If the answer is a folder nobody has opened since the last audit, the Areas for Improvement letter follows. If the answer is a live log with names and dates, the audit ends there.

The same pattern holds for insurers. They are not reading your intentions. They are reading the last inspection report, the last test certificate and the last training record. If those three documents do not exist for every building in the portfolio, the renewal conversation changes.

Where the EWS1 rating fits into the renewal pack

The EWS1 rating is a statement about the external wall system. Insurers use it to decide whether the building is financeable and insurable on standard terms. A rating that shows combustible materials or missing cavity barriers will push the premium up, add an exclusion, or end the quote.

But the rating alone is not the evidence. The insurer wants the inspection that produced it, the remediation plan if work is outstanding, and the date of the next review. If you cannot produce those, the rating becomes a liability rather than an asset. This is the same pattern I wrote about in the fire compartmentation update and insurance renewal, and it is worth reading alongside this because the evidence set overlaps.

For a director of portfolio, the practical move is to treat the EWS1 rating as one line in a wider evidence pack. The pack includes the fire risk assessment, the EICR, the alarm and sprinkler test certificates, the drill records and the training log. If any one of those is missing, the insurer will ask why, and the answer will cost more than the certificate did.

Your 60-second self-check

• Could you produce the current EWS1 rating and the inspection behind it today, for every hotel and serviced apartment in the portfolio?
• Could you show the last fire drill record and staff training log for each building, with names and dates?
• Could you put your hand on the last EICR, alarm test and sprinkler test certificate without asking someone to search for it?

If any of those answers is no, the free 5-minute Director's Risk Check at hermanwa.com/risk-check will show you which statutory deadlines and penalties apply to your portfolio, each with its official source. It gives you a control score, the portfolio's breach exposure with the source attached, and a board-ready briefing you can send to a colleague to answer.

Herman's verdict

The EWS1 rating is not the evidence. It is the headline on a document the insurer will ask you to produce in full, and a rating without the inspection behind it is a number that costs you money at renewal. Produce the pack before they ask, or the pack will produce a higher premium.

— Herman