Aipedia: Fire risk assessors

AI site survey apps, photos and dictation

Aipedia, by the Apex broking team · Last reviewed 2026-10-30

AI survey apps let fire risk assessors dictate observations and auto-tag photos on the walk-round, but transcription and tagging errors can flow straight into significant findings. Good records of what was inspected are also the assessor's main defence if an assessment is later challenged.

Part of: AI in fire risk assessment

In short

Mobile survey apps now transcribe an assessor's dictation, label photos by room or defect and build a structured record as the walk-round progresses. That is useful, but speech recognition mishears technical terms, photo tagging guesses, and the app may keep only the processed version. Article 9 of the Fire Safety Order requires the significant findings to be recorded, and a disputed assessment will turn on what the assessor actually saw. If the raw evidence is missing or contradicts the report, the assessor's position in a claim is weaker, and PI defence costs rise.

How assessors use survey apps

On a typical visit the assessor speaks observations into a phone or tablet ("ground floor corridor, door to plant room, no self-closer, gap at head") and takes photos. The app transcribes the speech, suggests a category such as means of escape or compartmentation, and attaches photos to the matching location. Some apps use image recognition to tag the photo with what it thinks it shows, such as a detector, a fire door or an extinguisher. At the end of the visit the structured data feeds the report writer, discussed in AI-written fire risk assessment reports.

The appeal is that nothing is lost between site and desk. The risk is that the machine decides what was recorded, and the assessor only sees its interpretation.

The duties that apply

Under Article 9 the responsible person must record the significant findings of the assessment, including the measures taken or needed and any group especially at risk, and keep the assessment under review. The assessor delivering that record owes the client reasonable skill and care. NFCC's guidance tells duty holders to give assessors access to all areas and relevant information, and to keep records of how they chose the assessor. Neither source mentions apps or AI. There is also a data angle: photos of security features, layouts and residents can include personal data, so UK GDPR applies to how the app stores and processes them. See our UK GDPR explainer.

What can go wrong

The failure points are small but they compound. Errors we would expect to see include:

transcription swaps, such as "no self-closer" becoming "now self-closer", or "not" dropped from a sentence;
photos tagged to the wrong floor or room, so evidence and finding no longer match;
image recognition labelling a non-rated door as a fire door;
the app keeping the transcript but not the audio, so the original words cannot be checked;
rooms not visited simply absent from the record, with no note of the limitation.

Illustrative scenario: after a fire in a small block, the responsible person says the assessor never inspected the bin store where the fire started. The assessor remembers looking. The app retained no photo of the bin store, the transcript has no entry, and the report is silent. With no evidence either way, defending the claim is harder and takes longer.

How PI usually responds

A transcription or tagging error that leads to a wrong finding is usually just a form of professional negligence, and PI is designed for that, subject to the policy terms and any fire safety restrictions. What the app changes is the defence. PI typically pays defence costs as well as damages, often within the limit, so weak records can increase the cost of a claim even if the assessor did nothing wrong. Read more in PI for fire engineers and fire risk assessors and our guide to what to document about AI use.

Practical controls

The aim is a record that would stand up if the assessment is challenged years later. Steps that help include:

Keep original audio and full-resolution photos, not just the processed output.
Read the transcript before leaving site, while the building is fresh in mind.
Check every photo tag against the floor plan.
Record areas not accessed and why, so scope limits are clear.
Agree with the client how long records are kept, and check the app's retention settings match.
Confirm where the app stores data and who can access it.

Retention matters most for reviews: see AI reviews and updates of existing FRAs and the fire risk assessment Aipedia hub.

How Apex helps

Apex arranges PI for fire risk assessors. A broker can explain how your policy handles defence costs and what records insurers may expect to see when a claim is notified.

Sources

Frequently asked

Is it safe to rely on dictation apps for site notes?

They are a useful tool if the assessor checks the transcript and keeps the original audio. Speech recognition can mishear technical terms and drop negatives, which can reverse a finding. Treat the transcript as a draft, not the record.

How long should I keep survey photos and notes?

There is no single rule in the Fire Safety Order for assessors. Claims can arise years after an assessment, so agree a retention period with the client and set the app to match it, balancing that against data protection principles.

Do survey photos raise data protection issues?

They can. Photos may capture residents, names on doors or security features, and the app may store them with a third party. UK GDPR applies to personal data, so check where data is held, who can access it and how long it is kept.

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Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information about how AI is used in the profession and how insurance may respond. It is not legal, regulatory or insurance advice on your circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.