Hood cleaning is a fire-code requirement — but it’s also increasingly an insurance requirement, and that’s the angle that can cost you the most if you get it wrong. Here’s how your policy and your hood are connected.
Commercial kitchen and restaurant property policies commonly include language requiring that cooking-exhaust systems be cleaned and maintained per NFPA 96 by a qualified company. Some require documentation of the cleaning schedule at renewal. The exact wording varies by carrier, so the safe move is to read your policy or ask your agent directly — but the trend is clear: insurers want proof.
This is where it bites. If a grease fire starts in your duct or fan and you cannot produce a current, documented cleaning history, the insurer may argue the loss resulted from failure to maintain the system — and reduce or deny the claim. A stack of dated certificates is your evidence that you did your part.
A clean, well-documented compliance record can work in your favor at renewal, while a history of lapses or a prior grease-fire claim raises your risk profile and your premium. Consistent, documented cleaning is one of the few fire-risk factors fully within your control.
Keep it simple and keep it complete:
Most commercial kitchen policies require NFPA 96 cleaning by a qualified company, and many require documentation. The exact terms vary by carrier — check your policy or ask your agent.
Yes. If a grease fire occurs and you can’t show a current, documented cleaning history, the insurer may reduce or deny the claim on failure-to-maintain grounds.
It can. A clean compliance record reduces your fire-risk profile, while lapses and prior grease-fire claims raise it.
Dated certificates from every cleaning, an unbroken schedule history, before-and-after photos, and a current service sticker on the hood.
Prefer to talk? Call (713) 912-2151.