AU 61 EXAM TEST BANK QUESTIONS
WITH 100% CORRECT ANSWERS
UPDATED 2024-2025
What are some of the fuel loads that could be present at a gas station or an automobile
service center? - Answer ✔ A gas station or automobile service center's fuel load could
include petroleum-based liquids such as gasoline, diesel fuel, motor oil, and kerosene,
as well as propane gas and/or flammable store merchandise from an attached
convenience or other store.
Where do most fires originate within manufacturing occupancies? - Answer ✔ Most fires
in manufacturing occupancies originate in the occupancy's process or manufacturing
area or workroom and involve shop tools or industrial equipment.
What hazards should be investigated in regard to the forklifts used to move raw
materials and finished products around a manufacturing plant? - Answer ✔ Hazards to
investigate in regard to forklifts used to move raw materials and finished products
around a manufacturing plant include whether the forklifts run on electricity or gasoline,
how and where the forklifts are refueled, and what safety measures are taken during the
process
What are some examples of ignition sources associated with heat treatment in a
manufacturing occupancy? - Answer ✔ Examples of ignition sources associated with
heat treatment in a manufacturing occupancy are oil quench tanks and molten salt
baths.
Josh is creating a presentation about fire protection for new underwriters. How would he
identify and describe the three elements of fire protection? - Answer ✔ These are the
three elements of fire protection: • Fire prevention—Public agencies often provide fire
prevention measures. • Fire detection—Public fire detection resources consist mainly of
communications systems used by the local fire service to receive and transmit fire
alarms. • Fire suppression—Firefighters provide public fire suppression
What three classifications does the American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS)
system use to group properties into? - Answer ✔ The AAIS system uses information
from the insurance application or geographic information systems (GIS) to group
properties into one of these classifications: • Protected—To qualify for this classification,
a building must be within 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant and five road miles of a responding
fire department. This classification is divided into five tiers (Protected 1, Protected 2,
Protected 3, Protected 4, and Protected 5) based on how close the building is to the fire
,department. • Partially protected—Building is located more than 1,000 feet from a fire
hydrant and is within five road miles of a responding fire department. • Unprotected—
Building is located in an area that is classified as neither protected nor partially
protected
Patty just opened a new clothing store. How can she prevent fire losses in it? - Answer
✔ To preventing fire losses in her store, Patty must routinely monitor housekeeping;
adhere to codes and standards; conduct effective fire prevention and protection
planning; properly handle, store, and remove hazardous materials; properly maintain
heat-generating equipment; and train all personnel in fire prevention. Further, she must
actively support these activities at all levels.
Aside from obtaining commitment from senior leaders, how do you think Patty could
encourage her employees to actively participate in a risk control program? - Answer ✔
Patty could hold both managers and employees accountable for achieving risk control
goals in the same way they are held accountable for achieving overall business goals:
by linking the risk control program to the company's job performance and appraisal
system
What is the primary factor that determines whether a watch service will be effective for
an organization? - Answer ✔ The effectiveness of a watch service depends on the
reliability of the individuals it employs. We've all seen movies in which a guard falls
asleep on the job, leading to property damage or burglary. That is a legitimate concern;
an unsupervised watch system may not be an improvement over no fire detection
system at all. Fire detection will be delayed if the guard is asleep, ill, inattentive, injured,
or rendered helpless by intruders.
What are the major types of automatic fire detection systems? - Answer ✔ Automatic
fire detection systems play an important role in private fire protection plans. These are
the major types of automatic fire detection systems: • Local alarm • Remote • Central
station • Proprietary alarm • Closed-circuit television
Sander is a new underwriter. Can you explain the difference between wet standpipe
systems and dry standpipe systems, and between automatic and manual standpipe
systems, to Sander? - Answer ✔ In wet systems, water is in the pipe at all times. In dry
systems, the pipe does not contain water unless the system is in use.Automatic
systems have a pump capable of supplying the needed water pressure. Manual
systems do not have a pump and require a fire department's pumper truck to supply the
needed water pressure
How is sprinkler protection an underwriting consideration? - Answer ✔ Well-informed
risk selection requires evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of a property's fire
protection system. Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) inspects and rates all buildings
protected by sprinkler systems, and the rating information includes a Rating
Construction Protection (RCP) code, which provides a lot of valuable underwriting
information about a building's sprinkler protection.
, Bella has started a new business. What cause of loss (peril) poses the greatest risk of a
large or even total property loss to Bella's business? - Answer ✔ Fire. It's the most
prevalent of all insured commercial property direct causes of loss. Therefore, it's
essential for an underwriter to understand the components of fire and how they interact
to effectively evaluate Bella's exposure to loss.
What elements are needed to start a destructive fire, and how can such a fire be
prevented? - Answer ✔ A fire requires three elements: an initial source of oxygen, fuel,
and heat. To cause significant damage, a fourth element is needed: an uninterrupted
chain reaction that causes the fire to flame up and spread, rather than just smolder. Fire
prevention efforts focus on removing one or more of these four elements.
Darnell's business has experienced a significant property loss and is temporarily closed.
He aims to resume business soon at a temporary location, while the original property is
resumed. What types of expenses can he expect to accrue along the way? - Answer ✔
Initially, Darnell will accrue lost profits. Until he reopens at a temporary location, he will
accrue continuing expenses, such as employee salaries, utilities, and rent payments,
despite the lack of revenue; after he establishes a temporary location, Darnell will
accrue extra expenses, such as the cost to move to that location, the additional rent,
and substitute equipment and services
Jay is underwriting an account that includes a 10-story hotel with an elevator located in
the center of the building that serves every floor and a freight elevator on one side of the
building that serves the basement and the first four floors. Stairwells serve each floor in
all four corners of the building. A restaurant and game room take up the fourth floor, and
an area on the first floor contains an indoor/outdoor swimming pool, hot tub, and sauna.
What are some of the fire-related concerns Jay might have about this property? -
Answer ✔ Jay should be concerned about the potential severity of fire in this building for
two reasons. First, the elevator shafts and stairwells create separate draft areas. If fire
doors are propped open, these draft areas could provide a fresh supply of oxygen onto
each floor and revive a fire. Secondly, the chlorinating agents for the swimming pool
and hot tub could supply a fire with oxygen.
What is the difference between noncombustible, combustible, and flammable materials?
- Answer ✔ Materials often fall into one of three buckets. Noncombustible materials burn
only at extremely high temperatures. They will burn, but only under extreme conditions.
Combustible materials burn at typical fire-condition temperatures but do not ignite
readily. Flammable materials ignite easily and burn intensely or have a rapid rate of
flame spread.
How do standard commercial property forms determine the amount an insured may
recover for a loss? - Answer ✔ Standard commercial property forms limit recovery to the
amount of the insured's insurable interest at the time of loss, subject to all other terms of
the insurance policy
