Insurer Readiness Pack
Readiness information for underwriting, risk engineering and claims analysis. In development through IMIA Working Group 149.
In development through IMIA Working Group 149
The Institute of Commissioning & Assurance (ICxA) and the International Association of Engineering Insurers (IMIA) are undertaking a joint research initiative through IMIA Working Group 149: From Risk Transfer to Risk Predictability: Can Readiness Improve Construction-to-Operations Transition Risk Assessment?
The study will investigate whether measurable Readiness Conditions can improve the assessment and predictability of risk as major capital projects transition from project delivery into stable operations. The pack will follow what the research finds.
This page describes what the pack is intended to contain. There are no documents to download yet. The pack is an ICxA document in development and does not represent a position of IMIA or its members.
The question insurers face
Engineering insurers assess a project through its construction: the works, the site, the contractors, the schedule and the physical hazards. Much less information is available on whether the project is becoming ready to operate: whether the people, organization, systems, procedures and evidence needed to start the asset up and run it are developing in time.
That gap matters most in the construction-to-operations transition. Testing and commissioning is when systems are first energized and run together, and a delay in start-up is measured against the date the project would otherwise have reached operation. Both depend on readiness, and readiness is rarely measured or reported to the insurer.
Low readiness maturity early in a project is normal. The risk is the absence of evidence that it is maturing.
What the pack is intended to provide
Readiness information as a potential complement to existing insurance risk assessment across the construction-to-operations lifecycle. The planned content follows the areas the research addresses: underwriting, risk engineering, claims analysis, and coverage and policy design. All of it is subject to the research findings.
Underwriting: Readiness Information Request
A short addendum to the underwriting submission. It sets out the readiness information an insurer can ask a project to provide at placement, stated by reference to the project’s Readiness Conditions under the ICxA Standards.
Risk engineering: Survey Addendum
What a risk engineer can look for and report on readiness at each survey during construction, alongside the existing survey scope. It says what to report, not how the risk engineer does the work.
Claims analysis: Start-Up Date Record
A dated record, kept through the project, of the readiness evidence behind the forecast start-up date. It is intended to give claims analysis a record made at the time of the date the project was on course to achieve.
Coverage and policy design: Illustrative Wording
Examples of how readiness information could be referred to in policy terms, to inform future consideration of coverage and policy design. The wording is illustrative and optional. Each insurer decides its own terms.
Worked Example
A fictional project told from the insurer’s side: what was asked for, what was received, and how readiness information was used in underwriting, risk engineering and claims analysis.
How the pack is designed
- It works with the documents and people insurers already use.
- It tells the insurer what readiness information to ask for.
- Readiness information is reported as evidence, and the insurer forms its own view.
- Any wording is illustrative. Each insurer decides independently whether and how to use it.
- It uses the same terms as the Working Group 149 research, so that insurers, lenders and projects describe readiness in the same way.
The project produces the readiness evidence in accordance with the ICxA Standards. The insurer and its advisers assess that evidence within their existing roles.
One set of evidence for lenders and insurers
Lenders can already add a readiness mandate to the appointment of their Lender’s Technical Adviser through the Lender Readiness Implementation Pack. The Insurer Readiness Pack is intended to draw on the same Readiness Conditions and readiness criteria, which each project defines under the ICxA Standards. A project then produces its readiness evidence once, and its lenders and insurers each read it for their own decisions.
Questions insurers ask
Is this an IMIA document?
No. It is an ICxA document in development. It is being developed through the joint research initiative that ICxA and IMIA are undertaking through IMIA Working Group 149, and it will follow the research findings. It does not represent a position of IMIA or its members.
When will the pack be available?
There is no publication date yet. Content will be released as the research supports it, and the progress and findings of the research will be shared as the work advances.
Why not publish it now?
Because the research question is still open. The study is determining which Readiness Conditions matter to construction-to-operations transition risk, how those conditions can be measured, and whether they can provide earlier and more useful information for better risk decisions. The pack should rest on those answers.
Does the pack change policy terms?
No. The pack is intended to provide readiness information and illustrative examples. Coverage, terms and pricing remain each insurer’s own decision.
Will it certify that a project is ready, or predict a loss?
No. Readiness information is evidence of whether readiness is maturing as the project requires. It cannot establish that start-up will succeed. The pack will claim no more than the research supports.
What can an insurer read today?
The ICxA Standards, which can be previewed at no cost, define Readiness Conditions, the evidence each stage-gate requires and the roles that evaluate it. The Lender Readiness Implementation Pack shows how Readiness Conditions are stated for a capital provider.
How can we take part?
The research brings together perspectives from engineering insurance, underwriting, risk engineering, claims, Operational Readiness, project delivery, transition to operations and asset operations. Working Group 149 is listed among IMIA’s working groups, and you can contact ICxA about the research or the pack.
Next steps
Follow the research
Read about the joint research initiative with IMIA Working Group 149 and view the research flyer.
Preview the ICxA Standards
See how Readiness Conditions, evidence and roles are defined. The preview is available at no cost.
Talk to ICxA
Discuss the research, or how readiness information could support your underwriting, risk engineering or claims work.