ISO RATINGS, TOWN CLASSIFICATIONS, OH MY!!!
--- How the rating affects our community ---
The information below is important if you live in BRYANT, FLAT ROCK or HIGDON, AL, within Jackson County, and north of the Flat Rock four-way crossing. Please contact us at 256-605-1645 if you need to determine whether or not you live within this jurisdiction.
Our fire department is working hard to help lower your homeowner insurance costs! Here’s how………
Insurance companies utilize complex methods to determine homeowner insurance rates. One factor is something called the “ISO Rating” (also known as a Town Classification) that is assigned to a fire department and community.
ISO stands for Insurance Services Office. This is a group of trained professionals that assess almost every fire department in the nation (roughly 48,000), and they use a consistent set of guidelines to evaluate these fire departments. ISO calculates a fire department’s ISO rating on many factors including the number of personnel on duty, training level of personnel, whether a fire department has paid or volunteer staff, operational tactics, the amount of water the fire department can get to a fire, the amount and quality of equipment used (such as fire engines and hand tools), and gobs and gobs AND GOBS of paperwork. ISO is separate from the fire department and also separate from insurance companies. ISO simply collects data, and observes operations, at fire departments. They then provide this information to insurance companies who use the information to determine insurance rates for that area.
The ISO Rating uses a scale from 1 to 10. Typically speaking, the lower the rating, the lower your insurance costs! This means fire departments that have an ISO Rating of “1” have the best possible Town Classification; therefore, insurance companies will typically have much lower insurance rates for people that live within that fire department’s jurisdiction. On the other hand, if the ISO rating is high (like a “10”), then insurance costs will typically be higher for people that live within that fire department’s jurisdiction.
Our fire department has a direct role in determining the ISO Rating. As mentioned above, there are many factors that are reviewed, such as evaluating our fire engines, tools/equipment, types of incidents we respond to, firefighter training, maintenance of property, and much, much more…..
These ISO evaluations are very typical for fire departments --- typically occurring every 3-5 years. However, our one-and-only rating occurred back in 1985 (over 30 years ago) which yielded an ISO Rating of “8/10.” The 8 was for residents that lived within 5 road miles of a fire station, and the 10 was for residents that live outside of 5 road miles from a fire station.
Realizing the need to improve, the current officers and firefighters of the Tri-Community Fire Department have dedicated ourselves to improving our Town Classification. This process is a lengthy, exhaustive, and highly stressful which requires thousands of volunteer hours, coordination with other agencies, mounds of paperwork, and lots of physical labor. The process can, at times, take several years to complete.
We have completed our 2nd ISO evaluation and we are please to announce that our new ISO Rating is 6/10!
Remember that the first evaluation was in 1985! This new rating means residents that live within 5 road miles should be eligible for an insurance premium *discount toward their "Town Classification."
This new Town Classification goes into effect 8/1/16, but most insurance companies will not implement the new rating until your next policy anniversary date. We highly recommend that you contact your home owner's insurance company to see when the Town Classification effects your insurance policy. When contacting your insurance company, please be sure to reference the "Town Classification."
On a final note, the financial burdens needed to operate a fire department are ever-increasing. It’s important to realize that our fire department is 100% volunteer (no paid members) and that we rely heavily upon donations from the community to operate with the everyday expenses. As of 6/30/16, our fire department has responded to 292 calls in our community this year alone!!! This averages to roughly one call every 15 hours!!!
As you can see, we are working hard to use your donations effectively to improve our community. We are not only responding to various types of emergencies, but we are also working hard to benefit you with lower insurance rates through the ISO Rating (and Town Classification) process!
*Disclaimer: Although our fire department has a direct role in determining ISO Ratings, you will need to consult your insurance company to see how the ISO Rating affects your specific insurance costs.
Our fire department is working hard to help lower your homeowner insurance costs! Here’s how………
Insurance companies utilize complex methods to determine homeowner insurance rates. One factor is something called the “ISO Rating” (also known as a Town Classification) that is assigned to a fire department and community.
ISO stands for Insurance Services Office. This is a group of trained professionals that assess almost every fire department in the nation (roughly 48,000), and they use a consistent set of guidelines to evaluate these fire departments. ISO calculates a fire department’s ISO rating on many factors including the number of personnel on duty, training level of personnel, whether a fire department has paid or volunteer staff, operational tactics, the amount of water the fire department can get to a fire, the amount and quality of equipment used (such as fire engines and hand tools), and gobs and gobs AND GOBS of paperwork. ISO is separate from the fire department and also separate from insurance companies. ISO simply collects data, and observes operations, at fire departments. They then provide this information to insurance companies who use the information to determine insurance rates for that area.
The ISO Rating uses a scale from 1 to 10. Typically speaking, the lower the rating, the lower your insurance costs! This means fire departments that have an ISO Rating of “1” have the best possible Town Classification; therefore, insurance companies will typically have much lower insurance rates for people that live within that fire department’s jurisdiction. On the other hand, if the ISO rating is high (like a “10”), then insurance costs will typically be higher for people that live within that fire department’s jurisdiction.
Our fire department has a direct role in determining the ISO Rating. As mentioned above, there are many factors that are reviewed, such as evaluating our fire engines, tools/equipment, types of incidents we respond to, firefighter training, maintenance of property, and much, much more…..
These ISO evaluations are very typical for fire departments --- typically occurring every 3-5 years. However, our one-and-only rating occurred back in 1985 (over 30 years ago) which yielded an ISO Rating of “8/10.” The 8 was for residents that lived within 5 road miles of a fire station, and the 10 was for residents that live outside of 5 road miles from a fire station.
Realizing the need to improve, the current officers and firefighters of the Tri-Community Fire Department have dedicated ourselves to improving our Town Classification. This process is a lengthy, exhaustive, and highly stressful which requires thousands of volunteer hours, coordination with other agencies, mounds of paperwork, and lots of physical labor. The process can, at times, take several years to complete.
We have completed our 2nd ISO evaluation and we are please to announce that our new ISO Rating is 6/10!
Remember that the first evaluation was in 1985! This new rating means residents that live within 5 road miles should be eligible for an insurance premium *discount toward their "Town Classification."
This new Town Classification goes into effect 8/1/16, but most insurance companies will not implement the new rating until your next policy anniversary date. We highly recommend that you contact your home owner's insurance company to see when the Town Classification effects your insurance policy. When contacting your insurance company, please be sure to reference the "Town Classification."
On a final note, the financial burdens needed to operate a fire department are ever-increasing. It’s important to realize that our fire department is 100% volunteer (no paid members) and that we rely heavily upon donations from the community to operate with the everyday expenses. As of 6/30/16, our fire department has responded to 292 calls in our community this year alone!!! This averages to roughly one call every 15 hours!!!
As you can see, we are working hard to use your donations effectively to improve our community. We are not only responding to various types of emergencies, but we are also working hard to benefit you with lower insurance rates through the ISO Rating (and Town Classification) process!
*Disclaimer: Although our fire department has a direct role in determining ISO Ratings, you will need to consult your insurance company to see how the ISO Rating affects your specific insurance costs.