Composite panel risk is concentrated in a handful of sectors. Panel Check's sector-specific expertise covers the full range - from cold storage and food production to pharmaceutical, logistics, automotive and data centres.
Back to Knowledge BaseNot all buildings with composite insulated panels present the same level of risk. The risk is concentrated in sectors where large-footprint insulated buildings are the norm, where operational processes create ignition hazards, and where the consequences of a fire are disproportionately severe.
The sectors where Panel Check works most extensively – cold chain logistics, food production and processing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, automotive, data centres and healthcare – share these characteristics. Each presents a specific combination of panel type, operational risk and insurance complexity that requires sector-specific knowledge to assess effectively.
Cold chain logistics and warehousing combines the highest-density foam panel construction in the building stock with high business interruption values and complex supply chain dependencies. Insurers have tightened conditions significantly for this sector, and independent panel assessment is now standard practice at renewal for most major cold store operators.
Panel Check works with cold store operators, their brokers and their underwriters to provide the verified assessments that enable cover to be placed on commercially viable terms. Our experience of live cold store environments means we can deliver surveys with minimum operational disruption.
Food production buildings present a wide range of composite panel applications – from ambient-temperature factory buildings to chilled production areas, high-care environments and cold store annexes. Many food factories contain multiple panel types across different construction phases, and accurate records are the exception rather than the rule.
Panel Check has extensive experience across all food production sectors – from large ambient factories to high-care chilled environments – and our identification capability covers every panel generation relevant to the UK food factory building stock.
Pharmaceutical manufacturing and storage facilities have specific regulatory requirements around building fabric integrity that go beyond standard fire safety. GMP compliance, MHRA requirements and the need for documented evidence of facility condition make composite panel assessment a quality system issue as well as a fire risk and insurance matter.
Panel Check’s assessors follow pharmaceutical site protocols as standard and produce reports structured to support GMP documentation requirements. We work with clients’ QA teams to ensure that our assessment process meets the facility’s procedural requirements.
Data centres present a specific risk profile: high-value equipment, critical business continuity requirements, complex electrical infrastructure and – frequently – composite panel construction from multiple eras. A fire in a data centre carrying live client data and systems can have consequences that extend far beyond the physical building loss.
Panel Check provides panel identification and compartmentation surveys for data centre operators, with specific attention to the fire-rated construction requirements around electrical infrastructure and UPS rooms.
Automotive facilities combine combustible panel cores with paint stores, solvent handling and regular hot works – a combination that requires specific assessment. Many motor industry buildings have poor construction records and have been modified extensively over time, making independent verification of current panel type and condition particularly important.
Healthcare estates and large retail facilities are increasingly requiring composite panel assessments as insurers and regulators apply the same scrutiny to these sectors that has applied to food and cold storage for some years. NHS estate managers in particular face specific obligations under HTM (Health Technical Memoranda) around building fabric condition and fire safety.
Panel Check has experience of NHS and independent healthcare estates, understanding the specific access constraints and documentation requirements that apply to these environments.
Whatever sector you operate in, Panel Check’s approach is consistent: we establish what is actually in your building, assess its condition and fire performance, and provide you with the verified evidence you need to manage risk and engage confidently with insurers.
We are not a general building surveyor with composite panel experience as one capability among many. Composite insulated panel assessment is what Panel Check does – entirely and exclusively. Our assessors have spent their careers working with these products, and our reference knowledge spans every product generation and every major manufacturer in the UK market.
This focus means that Panel Check assessments deliver a level of identification accuracy, technical depth and insurer credibility that generalist surveyors cannot match. It means our reports are structured to meet the specific evidence requirements of UK underwriters – because we have worked with those underwriters to understand what they need. And it means our advice on risk management, remediation and insurer engagement is grounded in direct experience of the outcomes that different approaches produce.
Panel Check provides 100% UK coverage, operating from a base in Leeds across all UK regions. We work with building owners, facilities managers, insurance brokers and underwriters directly. Initial conversations about assessment requirements are free and without obligation – contact Panel Check to discuss the panel assessment needs of your building or estate.