Testing Results in Lower Insurance
Using Testing to Learn How Damage is Caused and How to Prevent It.
Insurance company FM Global uses extensive testing to evaluate just how much damage can occur in a situation and evaluates systems that can reduce damage.
As a mechanical engineer who specializes in destructive testing, I love a good collapse, explosion, or general disintigration during testing. While browsing the April 2008 issue of Fast Company magazine, I found my version of engineering heaven. In the article "Burn This" by Paul Hochman, we're introduced to the testing facility at FM Global of West Glocester, Rhode Island.
FM Global is an insurance company that has been around since 1835, and one of its early innovations was the use of sprinkler systems for piano factories. The focus at FM Global is on evaluating the damage that can occur in different situations, rather than guessing the risk and assigning insurance premiums. At their testing facilities, they evaluate a wide range of scenarios, including the combustion of resin dust, roof shingles being blown off by hurricane-force winds, and the burning of nearly anything and everything in their 2.2 million cubic foot Burn Lab building.
One of FM Global's goals is to develop and approve systems that their clients can implement. If they do, then FM Global charges lower premiums. One example is an anchored film window. The window consists of two panes of glass with a plastic layer sandwiched between them. If the window is hit by tornado debris, or in the lab simulation, a steel ball shot from a pneumatic cannon, the plastic layer keeps the window intact, and prevents wind and water from entering the building through a broken window.
The result for FM Global's customers, including 30% of the Fortune 1000 companies, is that prevention is cheaper in the long run than clean up. Understanding what can happen in accidents or natural disasters and implementing systems that can reduce or eliminate damage results in lower premiums for FM Global's customers.
