Institute for Damage Prevention and Damage Research of the Public Insurers (IFS)

The Institut für Schadenverhütung und Schadenforschung der öffentlichen Versicherer e.V. (IFS) is a central institution of the German public insurers in the field of damage prevention. It was founded in 1976 in Kiel and operates in the legal form of a registered association (e.V.). Its members are the public damage insurers, and its statutory purpose is to promote loss prevention across all branches of damage insurance and to conduct research into the causes of damage. The research focus lies in fire protection, electrical, environmental, chemical and physical fields. The institute collects scientific results and practical experience through its own investigations, evaluates the experience of its members and informs them of the findings. To promote the idea of damage prevention among the general public, it also conducts press and public relations work. The IFS carries out extensive expert and forensic work, investigating the causes of individual losses. Systematic evaluation of this loss experience produces insights and recommendations for damage prevention. The main focal points are fire damage and water damage from pipes. These findings are made available to the interested public mainly through print and online media. The IFS regularly publishes its results in its specialist magazine, Schadenprisma, the journal for damage prevention and damage research of the public insurers. In addition to its headquarters in Kiel, the institute has locations in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hannover, Münster, München, Wiesbaden and Stuttgart. Operationally, the IFS conducts roughly 2,000 fire cause investigations per year, according to its own cause statistics. Its fire cause statistics for 2025 cover the investigation period from 2016 to 2025 and are based on detailed investigations by its scientific and technical specialists, with results collected in the IFS loss database. The institute also offers services such as fire simulation, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models to reconstruct the course of a fire and to assess the influence of various parameters, an approach its expert team adapted for post-fire damage reconstruction in German-speaking countries. Through its publications, free technical leaflets for tradespeople and its magazine Schadenprisma, the IFS serves both its member insurers and the wider public with practical prevention guidance.

The Institut für Schadenverhütung und Schadenforschung der öffentlichen Versicherer e.V. (IFS) was founded in 1976 in Kiel and operates in the legal form of a registered association (e.V.). Its members are the public damage insurers of Germany, making it a central institution of the public insurers in the field of damage prevention. From its founding, the institute was given a statutory mission: to promote loss prevention in all branches of damage insurance and to conduct research into the causes of damage, with a research focus on fire protection, electrical, environmental, chemical and physical fields. To fulfil this mission, the IFS built up extensive expert and forensic activity, investigating the causes of individual losses. Systematic evaluation of these loss experiences generated insights and recommendations for prevention. Fire damage and water damage from pipes became the main focal points. Over time the institute developed a loss database in which investigation results are collected and statistically evaluated, producing its cause statistics. According to its own figures, the IFS conducts roughly 2,000 fire cause investigations per year; its fire cause statistics for 2025 cover the investigation period from 2016 to 2025 and are based on detailed investigations by its scientific and technical specialists. Beyond classic cause investigation, the IFS has extended its methods. Its expert team adapted computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling — numerical experiments in a virtual laboratory — for reconstructing the course of a fire after a loss and for assessing the influence of parameters such as building geometry, fire load and ventilation openings. While computer-based fire simulation was already established in preventive fire protection, the IFS notes that it had hardly been used in German-speaking countries to reconstruct damage after a fire, an application the institute helped develop. The institute communicates its findings to members and the public through print and online media, notably its specialist magazine Schadenprisma, the journal for damage prevention and damage research of the public insurers, and through free technical leaflets for tradespeople. In addition to its headquarters in Kiel, the IFS maintains locations in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hannover, Münster, München, Wiesbaden and Stuttgart, reflecting its role as a nationwide technical resource for the public insurers.

• 2025

  Published fire cause statistics covering the investigation period 2016 to 2025.

• 1976

  Founded in Kiel as a registered association (e.V.) of the public insurers.

• Established locations in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hannover, Münster, München, Wiesbaden and Stuttgart in addition to the Kiel headquarters.

• Developed and adapted CFD-based fire simulation for post-fire damage reconstruction in German-speaking countries.

A non-profit, association-based scientific and technical institute serving Germany's public insurers, combining forensic loss investigation with prevention research and public education.

• Fire cause investigation

  Expert investigation of the causes of individual fire losses, conducted roughly 2,000 times per year.

• Water damage investigation

  Investigation of pipe water damage, a main focal point alongside fire damage.

• Fire simulation (CFD)

  Computational fluid dynamics modelling used to reconstruct fire courses and assess parameters such as building geometry, fire load and ventilation.

• IFS cause statistics

  Statistical evaluation of investigation results collected in the IFS loss database, e.g. fire cause statistics 2025 covering 2016–2025.

• Technical leaflets (Merkblätter)

  Free downloadable guidance for tradespeople on typical installation and assembly errors.

• Schadenprisma magazine

  The journal for damage prevention and damage research of the public insurers, published regularly.

1. 1Institut für Schadenverhütung und Schadenforschung der öffentlichen Versicherer e.V. – Official websiteifs-ev.org
2. 2Brandsimulation – Institut für Schadenverhütung und Schadenforschungifs-ev.org
3. 3Ursachenstatistik Brandschäden 2025 – Institut für Schadenverhütung und Schadenforschungifs-ev.org
4. 4Institut für Schadenverhütung und Schadenforschung – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
5. 5Institut für Schadenverhütung und Schadenforschung – Wikidatawikidata.org