Surely if the insurance co wants them, you should fit them?
Alot of Insurance reps Ive come across are damn good at their job, know the various regs inside and out. They know them equally as well as the enforcers and thus insist on good practice, common sense requirements on their clients . So I dont ever see them asking for that.
But if you are unlucky enough to be insured with a small minority of jack booted idiots here is what I would suggest.
If the insurance company insist that extinguishers are required in this scenario you just ask them if they will pay up if an untrained person is injured or killed through the incorrect use of using an extinguisher . Im thinking here of water applied to a fire involving electrics, persons overcome by smoke or encountering untennable fire related conditions such as flashover or backdraught.
Get them to confirm in writing if they say they will pay up. Ask them then if they will be the person standing in the dock infront of a very unimpressed judge when the mess hits the fan, and also at the same time remind the cheeky arrogant so and so's that there are plenty of competitors vying for your business out there.
Most insurance companies insist on good common sense stuff that makes a place safer for everyone who uses it, there an odd few idiots who think they know it all out there. Theyre not enforcers, you are their clients, remind them of that relationship!
Always read the small print too. Some companies will find every excuse under the sun to not payout!