2005 ISO UPDATE

It is time for our 2005 up date to our readers on the status of the Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO), Public Protection Classification System adopted by Texas in 1998. This system determines what residents will pay for the fire protection portion of their homeowners insurance. Lets start with some definitions:

ISO-- Insurance Services Office, Inc. Established a Public Protection Classification system (PPC).

It has been in use for many years outside of Texas. Texas was the last state to change to this system. For more information contact the Texas Insurance Commission’s WEB site.

PPC Class is the rating an area receives. The best rating is 1 and worst rating is 10. Areas with mixed urban and rural receive two ratings. Under this new policy KVFD is rated 5/9, Five for urban and nine for rural. The Schedule measures the major elements of a fire district or city’s fire suppression system. The classification is divided into three major sections. These are; the fire department organization in the area; the water supply in the area; and how fire alarms are received and handled for the community. Each section is weighted in the finial summary. Water supplies make up 40% of the available credit. Fire department operations account for 50% of the credit. Receiving and handling fire alarms accounts for 10% of the available credit.

KVFD can control and improve on the ratings of our fire department but this only represents 50% of the total summary points. A large portion of the rating depends on the water supplies available to the fire department. If you live in a MUD serviced area then most likely you have a hydrant within 1000 feet of your home capable of supply

Anyone who pays homeowners insurance knows they have been paying more since 1998 than in previous years. Switching from the old KEY system to the new ISO/PPC system increased the average base insurance rate in our area about 6.5% regardless of PPC rating. This is due to the change in the insurance rating system, which gave credit to Klein because they were so close to Houston.

ESTIMATED HOMEOWNER’S INSURANCE SAVINGS % AS
WE REDUCE OUR RATING

KVFD Continues to work on its ability to affect ISO Ratings

The Tactical leadership of KVFD spent have spent most of 2005 gathering information, making changes to the department as well as additional purchases, which are designed to address the PPC schedules. These programs will meet the existing requirements of the schedule as well as improve the rating of the fire district when it is on November 2005.  As part of the long range plan to lower the Klein Fire District’s ISO rating we will continue to address equipment and station needs.  A replacement station # 32 is currently under construction and due to be in service within the next 2 months. We have identified 3 new locations for replacement of existing stations or new stations.  Station 35 (Willow Forest) and 36 (Westborne) are both scheduled to get a replacement station in the next 24-48 months pending acquisition of land.  A new station, 38 is scheduled to be built in 12-24 months in Gleannloch Farms near Boudreaux.

KVFD has been working aggressively with an ISO consultant that has been assisting us in actions needed to lower the ISO rating.  We feel we will be able to reduce our grade in our rural areas significantly if not completely remove our split rating as well as reduce our urban areas by 1-2 grade levels. As stated earlier in the article, the fire department can only address 50% of the needed points directly.  The first 10% is communications, we have worked with our dispatch center and communication consultant to ensure that our communications rating gets us as many credits as possible. The remaining 40% that relates to water supply which KVFD does not control directly has been a real challenge.  The department has mapped over 4000 hydrants, tested water flow in every water district and created district maps to support the water supply data. We have worked closely with the numerous water districts to gather as much data as possible.

We have added “Compressed Air Foam Systems” to 2 of our pumpers to better meet the ISO requirements for response, Updated communication equipment as well as added additional equipment to our fleet.  We must balance the need to reduce ISO ratings with the need to maintain the most modern, up to date fleet, best protective clothing, equipment maintenance and membership recruitment, training and retention.  All of these areas cost the fire department thousands of dollars a month.  We want to spend your money wisely to give you the best insurance rating we can without over spending in areas that do not offer a value add to you, our customer.

We will update everyone in the next few months on the results of our pending audit.  It takes approximately 4 months to get the preliminary results back from the ISO group.  We want to assure you that you have one of the best trained, best equipped and best managed fire departments in the area.

If you have recently moved into the area or have changed insurance carriers, KVFD urges you to review the rating that you receive to ensure your have been given the correct rating for your area.  Some insurance carriers are new to Texas, an opportunity created by the unique issues that are the result of mold, flood and hurricane problems.