County improves its insurance fire rating

Patrons of Pettis County Fire Protection District may pay less for homeowners insurance premiums because the district received an improved grade from the Insurance Services Office (ISO).

The fire district boosted its rating by one class in July, and the new rating took effect Wednesday. The improvement will result in lower premiums for homeowners across 410 square miles of Pettis County, said district Fire Chief Jeff Williams.

Williams said Pettis County residents should notice lower rates on their homeowners insurance the next time premiums are evaluated. He noted that the last time the fire district improved its rating, some residents were able to receive rebates for the time between the rating improvement and the time lower premiums went into effect.

“People need to contact their insurers and see what is available for them,” Williams said.
American Family Insurance Agent Jerry Reid said it is unlikely that Pettis County residents will receive retroactive rebates. He explained that each insurance provider weighs ISO ratings differently.

"In general, any time the fire protection classification gets better it should help the evaluation of your rating structure,” Reid said.
An improved grade from ISO is only one factor that goes into determining homeowners insurance premiums, Reid said. Some providers will base the rate structure on a range of ISO classifications, so an improvement of one class may not affect all residents.

Rick Thompson, an agent with Insurance & Benefits Group, agreed that the rating change may not affect all people because some providers use the average classification ratings across an entire ZIP code to determine premiums.
“The difference in premiums is going to be pretty marginal,” Thompson said. “Some people won’t see any changes. It depends on your insurance provider.”

ISO’s Public Protection Classification program evaluates communities according to a standardized set of criteria developed by the National Fire Protection Association and the American Water Works Association.
“They grade the communications, the fire department itself — which includes the trucks, the personnel and the training — and the water supply,” Williams explained.

Based on these standards, ISO reviews communities’ local fire protection capabilities and assigns a classification ranging from 1 to 10. Class 1 represents the best possible fire protection, while class 10 indicates a failure to meet minimum recognized criteria.
Pettis County residents living within five miles of a fire station who have a hydrant within 1,000 feet of their property will receive an ISO grading class 4, while those whose property is beyond 1,000 feet of a hydrant will garner a class 6 ISO grading. Both ratings represent a one-tier improvement from previous evaluations.

“We improved our communications, the fire department and the water supply,” he said. “Two years ago, we missed our target by half a point in each category, which gave us a scorecard to work from to see where else we needed to improve. We took care of some issues and called ISO back again.”

About 10 percent of communities across the country have an ISO rating of class 4 or better, and nearly 40 percent have a grade of class 6 or better.
“We’re at the point where that is about the lowest we can go with the department we have,” Williams said.
Williams said the change will not affect people or businesses in Sedalia because the Sedalia Fire Department is the fire authority for the city.