ISO Class 4 Certified
5/27/05
I'm pleased to announce that the West Valley (Volunteer) Fire Department has received its New ISO Rating. The new rating is Class 4. This will benefit residents and business owners in Canutillo, Westway, Vinton, and Anthony.
ISO is short for Insurance Services Office. They "grade" all 40,000 Fire Departments in the United States. ISO grades the following aspects of each Fire Department.
1. Fire alarm and communication systems. This review accounts for 10% of the total classification, which centers upon a community’s facilities and support for handling and dispatching fire alarms.
2. Fire department. This review accounts for 50% of the total classification, which focuses upon items such as engine companies, ladder or service companies, distribution of fire stations and fire companies, equipment carried on apparatus, pumping capacity, reserve apparatus, department manning, and training.
3. Water supply system. This review accounts for 40% of the total classification highlighting the water supply a community uses for fire suppression, including hydrant size, type, and installation, as well as the inspection frequency and condition of the fire hydrants.
Once graded, the Fire Department will score from 1 to 10. 1 being the best and 10 being the worst. ISO then forwards this grade to the Texas State Insurance Office and all insurance companies. This directly relates to how much the homeowner and business owner pays for their yearly insurance premiums.
The West Valley Fire Department was last graded in December of 1998. At the conclusion of that grading we were a class 6 / 9. That meant that if the home or business was within 5 miles of a fire station and within 1000 feet of a fire hydrant, they paid their insurance at a 6 rate. All others that lived or had their business outside of the 5 miles, and 1000 feet limits paid as a 9 rating. ((This meant class 9 folks paid up to 25% more for their insurance.))
Now all Upper Valley residents and business owners regardless of their location, as long as they are in West El Paso County will pay their rates as a class 4. No more split classification.
Homeowners will save from 9.1% up to 38.5% depending on their location. Business owners will go from paying a factor of 1.4 (ISO class 9) or 1.030 (ISO class 6)to .96 (ISO class 4)
Home and business owners will see this change upon renewl of their insurance policies.
Just for your information of the 40,000 fire departments nationwide (paid and volunteer) 0.1 % are ISO class 1, 0.7 % are ISO class 2, 2.6 % are ISO class 3, and 6.9% are ISO class 4. The rest fall into ISO class 5-10.
### Adler
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