Risk management ‘must prepare for the worst’ is the latest stark warning from the UK Environment Agency, which suggests that, with global temperatures set to rise by up to four degrees Centigrade by 2100, some £1bn a year might be needed to be spent on flood management.

Insurance statistics reveal that the most likely cause of claims in commercial buildings, retail premises, hotels and apartment blocks is water damage.

UK insurers confirm that water leakage is now the costliest and most common claim made by commercial customers with a total loss in the UK alone approaching £800 million.

The financial sector is particularly vulnerable to such potential losses with data centre outages costing an average of £12,000 per minute, hourly losses on the stock exchange around £4.5 million and credit card clearance around £1.8 million.

Water leakage damage costs alone can be significant and it is not just the obvious cost of physical damage to IT equipment and the fabric of the building, because even a minor water leak can result in significant business interruption including temporary relocation, increased employment costs and loss of profits.
 
Vimpex, a UK independent manufacturer and distributor of life safety products, advises that the most efficient way to mitigate the risk of water damage is to continuously monitor for water leaks.

According to Vimpex, its water detection technology is leading the way, in the form of the Vimpex Hydrosense system, which, with its Vimpex Hydro-Cryer voice sounders, comprises what the company claims to be the most sophisticated configurable water leak detection system on the market. 

Hydrosense systems deliver a new standard in water leak detection to protect areas where water ingress could seriously damage electrical, communication and computer networks.

It continuously monitors for water leaks around the clock, year in year out, with the facility for 72-hour battery standby in the event of power failure.

Vimpex life safety technology provides the reliability and integrity of BSi approved fire detection systems, meaning there is virtually no risk of failure, downtime and significantly fewer false alarms.