Fire, insurance & risk
TR19 sets the minimum, but your policy can set a firmer pace. Here's what insurers expect - and why the policy interval is the one that counts.
The short answer
Insurers expect kitchen extract systems cleaned to TR19 Grease, and their expectations have converged on the same use-based matrix: heavy use every 3 months, moderate every 6, light every 12. But a policy can be stricter than that floor. Many insurers set their own stated interval - often quarterly for high-use kitchens or a six-monthly minimum on all-risks cover - and it is the policy interval, not TR19's minimum, that governs.
What insurers expect
Start with the common ground. Insurers, fire assessors and TR19 all point to the same risk-based schedule: the more hours a kitchen runs and the heavier the cooking, the more often the extract system must be cleaned. Heavy-use kitchens land on roughly quarterly, moderate on six-monthly, light on annual. Most policies treat cleaning to TR19 at an interval matched to use as the baseline expectation.
Where insurers go further is in fixing that interval as a policy term. Some require quarterly cleaning for high-use kitchens regardless of how the operator would self-assess; others set a floor - commonly six-monthly, sometimes annual as an absolute minimum - for any kitchen on all-risks cover, even a light user. The policy can be more demanding than TR19; it is rarely more lenient.
Why the policy can exceed TR19
TR19's intervals are minimums for controlling grease build-up. An insurer is doing something slightly different - protecting itself against a catastrophic claim - so it may want a wider safety margin than the standard's floor. That is why a policy can stipulate more frequent cleaning than a use-band assessment alone would suggest, and why two identical kitchens can carry different cleaning obligations simply because their insurers word the requirement differently.
The interval is often written as a condition or warranty, which means missing it is a breach in its own right. Meeting TR19 is not automatically the same as meeting your policy - if the policy says quarterly and TR19 would allow six-monthly, quarterly is the number that keeps your cover intact.
Getting the interval right
The safe approach is to work from the policy, not from TR19 alone. Find the stated cleaning frequency in your schedule and conditions, and set your cleaning contract to match it - or to whichever is more frequent, the policy or your TR19 use-band. Keep dated certificates at that interval so you can show, at any point, that the requirement was met.
If your policy is silent on frequency, fall back to the TR19 matrix for your use band and document the reasoning. Either way, a scheduled contract removes the risk of drifting past the interval by accident - which is the most common way operators breach a frequency term without noticing.
Questions
Usually to the TR19 use-based matrix - heavy use every 3 months, moderate every 6, light every 12 - but many insurers set a stricter stated interval, such as quarterly for high-use kitchens or a six-monthly minimum on all-risks cover.
Yes. TR19's intervals are minimums for controlling grease; an insurer may want a wider safety margin and can stipulate more frequent cleaning as a policy term. The policy interval governs, not TR19's floor.
Not necessarily. If the policy specifies quarterly and TR19 would allow six-monthly, quarterly is the interval that keeps your cover intact. Always work from the policy.
Fall back to the TR19 matrix for your use band and document the reasoning, keeping dated certificates at that interval as evidence.
Set a scheduled cleaning contract to match the policy interval. Drifting past the date by accident is the most common way operators breach a frequency term.
Phoenix Duct Clean · by the numbers
We schedule to your policy's stated interval and certify every visit - so the frequency is proven.