Project IIIRIS Lifecycle Diagram

IMI Project IIRIS: data-driven insurance for safer, smarter buildings

An industry working group will shortly start work on an Information Management Initiative (IMI) technical project to help the insurance sector evaluate project risk using structured information.

Established as a use case in July 2017, and now sitting under the umbrella of the IMI (led by nima and supported by the Construction Leadership Council), the two-year Project IIRIS programme is being led by Dr Bola Abisogun OBE, founder and president of the not-for-profit Digital Twin Skills Academy, and supported by Stuart Bell, CEO of specialist digital consultancy Amodal. The first virtual meeting of the cross-sector working group is scheduled for 22 May 2026, and will include representatives from the Construction Industry Council, legal and insurance experts, academics, information management specialists and technology providers.

Towards a standardised way to evaluate project risk

Abisogun says:

Insurance premiums in construction are rising sharply, particularly where projects fail to deliver compliant data. The global insurance sector lacks a standardised way to evaluate project risk using structured information. During the risk-laden construction phase, data silos need to be disrupted.

“This collaborative industry initiative will offer the insurance sector lower risk exposure, improved underwriting accuracy, and more accurate premiums, while giving construction clients (and funders) better value, safer outcomes, and lasting data legacies.”

Bola Abisogun

Over a projected two-year programme, the working group will:

  1. Define clear Insurer Information Requirements across the asset lifecycle, aligned with the IMI Framework, Building Safety Act gateways and principles underpinned by ISO 19650 (specifically part 6).
  2. Collaborate with other IMI Projects to establish a standard exchange format so that structured project data can be utilised by insurers during design (RIBA Stages 0 to 4), through construction (RIBA Stage 5), and beyond handover (RIBA Stage 6).
  3. Develop the Minimum Insurable Asset Dataset (MIAD), a data-driven underwriting solution that will enable insurers to offer assured premiums based upon contractually regulated information exchanges.
  4. Develop provisions for use in professional appointments, main contracts and elsewhere requiring notification to insurers when assets are modified, helping to maintain real time, accurate risk profiles.
  5. Publish an IIRIS Executive Technical Briefing, educational material and other guidance on the data-driven insurance information exchange requirement across the full asset lifecycle.
Project IIRIS programme diagram

Abisogun continues:

“Enabling better visibility for the insurance sector is huge area of focus given what has transpired since the Grenfell Tower tragedy. The Building Safety Act 2022 Golden Thread requirement presents a tangible and growing challenge for all stakeholders.

By embedding continuous data updates across a project’s lifecycle, insurers gain live risk visibility, enabling more accurate and (potentially) lower premiums and a suite of new insurance products tailored to digitally assured projects and built assets.”

nima support

nima chair Dr Anne Kemp OBE says:

“The ongoing development and expansion of ISO 19650 since publication of the initial parts in 2018 has given us a fabulous opportunity to redefine how construction phase risk is managed throughout the iterative design process, how it is actually delivered on site, and how it is more accurately maintained, underwritten and insured – all while adopting the principles of the IMI.

“I am delighted, as chair of nima, to see Bola kickstart Project IIRIS as one of our first IMI technical use cases, and I look forward to joining the working group’s meetings to develop this important work.”

Anne Kemp

Working group members

  • Dr Abolade ‘Bola’ Abisogun OBE (Digital Twin Skills Academy ) – Chair
  • Stuart Bell (Amodal) – Vice Chair
  • Dr Graham Watts OBE (Construction Industry Council; CIC)
  • Gary Strong (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors; RICS)
  • Dr Anne Kemp OBE (Atkins Realis / Chair, nima)
  • Emma Hooper (RLB Digital / Vice-Chair, nima)
  • Nicholas Nisbet (buildingSMART, lead author ISO 19650-6)
  • Andrew Chisholm (Senior Underwriter / Risk Engineer)
  • Mark Coates (Bentley Systems)/ Iain Miskimmin (COMIT Projects / Bentley)
  • Samantha Peat (VIC Holdings / Chair, CIC PI Liability Panel)
  • Chris Lees (CEO, Data Clan / Faculty Member, OSCRE Academy)
  • Dale Sinclair (Fellow & Director of Digital Innovation, WSP)
  • May Winfield (Global Head – Legal & Digital Risks, Buro Happold)
  • Shakirah Akinwale (UCL-CSRI) / Dr Carolyn Phelan (University College London)
  • Senior Representatives (Lockton, UK Office)
  • Senior Representatives (Gallaghers, UK Office)
  • Harry Yates / Eduard Stephenson (Buildprompt)
  • Rick Hartwig (Engineering Council)
  • Paul Sheedy (Unifi.id)

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