| Goals |
Most fire departments plan on acquiring equipment, personnel and training in order to lower the Fire Insurance Rating of homeowners in their community.
A community with no fire protection or with inadequate personnel, equipment and training is classified as a Class 10 by the insurance rating company (Insurance Services Office). The savings in lowered homeowner insurance ratings can be a good selling point for your Fire Department. Local insurance ratings should be checked, but an example of the savings that could be expected are as follows. |
|
|
| Fire
Insurance Rating Savings |
|
One advantage of establishing a
fire department is to reduce homeowners insurance rates for the residents of the
community. The following are requirements for a fire department going from no fire
protection (Class 10) to a Class 9 or Class 8. Class 10 is no protection and
Class 1 is the best rating you can get. Our program
is designed primarily to get a fire department organized, equip and train them to reduce
their fire insurance rates from a Class 10 to a Class 9.
A sample of the savings that a homeowner can expect on a
$100,000 home are as follows: |
Brick |
Frame |
Insurance
Rating |
Rate/
Year |
Insurance
Rating |
Rate/
Year |
Class 10 |
$1342 |
Class 10 |
$1551 |
Class 9 |
$843 |
Class 9 |
$977 |
Class 8 |
$719 |
Class 8 |
$853 |
Class 7 |
$612 |
Class 7 |
$676 |
|
From these rates, you can see that a community with a truck equipped to qualify them for Class 9 rating, and trained personnel will save the homeowners $499.00 per year on a brick home and $564.00 per year on a frame home. Many of the insurance companies will not write insurance on a home not covered by a fire department.
You may contact the Insurance Services Office at
1-800-930-1677 for information about your rating.
The FAX number is 1-800-711-6431
Class 8 and Class 9 Requirements are as follows: |
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| Fire
Insurance Rating Service |
Insurance
Services Office, Inc.
Fire Insurance Classification Evaluations |
Insurance Services Office, Inc. evaluates municipal fire protection facilities for the purpose of assigning a fire insurance classification for insurance companies using this service.
The classification is determined by making a field review of the fire protection facilities in the community and comparing them with the standards contained in the ISO Fire Suppression Rating Schedule.
The classifications range from Class 1, the highest, to Class 10, being little or no recognized protection.
The FSRS lists standards in three categories: |
|
|
Fire Alarm Facilities
Fire Department
Water Supply |
Capacity of the water system is determined by witnessing actual water supply tests flowing water from hydrants at various points in the water system.
The final classification is determined by the total of the credit points in all three categories. At least 20 points of credit are needed for Class 8. |
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Credit
Points Needed for Each Class |
| Credit
Points |
Class |
Credit
Points |
Class |
| 90.0
- 100 |
1 |
40.0
- 49.9 |
6 |
| 80.0
- 89.9 |
2 |
30.0
- 39.9 |
7 |
| 70.0
- 79.9 |
3 |
20.0
- 29.9 |
8 |
| 60.0
- 69.9 |
4 |
10.0
- 19.9 |
9 |
| 50.0
- 59.9 |
5 |
00.1
- 9.9 |
10 |
|
