Fire protection ratings may help NK homeowners’ bills

Homeowners in New Kent County could qualify for reductions in their insurance costs resulting from the latest review conducted by an agency that assesses a locality’s ability to provide fire protection and fight fires.

For decades now, most county homes have hovered at a high-risk for fire damage based on a 25-year-old assessment performed by the Insurance Services Office (ISO), an agency that collects data nationwide on fire protection efforts in individual localities. How a locality fares under ISO requirements hinges primarily on the proximity of fire hydrants and other water sources, local fire department locations and capabilities, and 911-system efficiency.

ISO takes a locality’s data and applies a “Public Protection Classification” (PPC) on a scale from 1 to 10 — Class 1 being the best (superior fire protection) and Class 10 equating to the worst (not meeting minimum ISO standards). New Kent’s numbers, based on the 1989 assessment, fell into a split rating of Class 6/Class 9.

An ISO rating is then available for use by insurance companies for setting homeowner insurance rates. Hence, an elevated risk assigned by ISO translates into higher premiums for homeowners.

But that is expected to change for many New Kent homeowners, and New Kent Fire-Rescue and the Board of Supervisors are out to alert the public concerning the latest ISO review. County fire chief Rick Opett said a brochure explaining the review and the current insurance situation is being mailed to all county residences. Homeowners should be on the lookout for brochures to arrive either late this week or sometime next week, he added.

“This is something the board has been working on for a long time,” said District 4 Supervisor Ron Stiers. “Most of New Kent has been near the worst in the ISO ratings, but with the new ratings just completed, some areas are going from near 10 down to 3.”

Opett said the Quinton and Eltham areas, dubbed “districts” in the brochure, now have a Class 3 PPC rating while Providence Forge and Lanexa fall into Class 4. The four districts encompass the entire county, and a map appears in the brochure outlining all four areas so homeowners can plot their location.

Already, the chief added, a fire department employee who is a county resident has used the revised designation to secure a $400 per year reduction in homeowner’s insurance cost.

“We at the fire department can’t guarantee that a homeowner’s rates will go down,” the chief said. “That’s up to the insurance company.”

And it’s incumbent upon each homeowner to approach their respective insurance carriers to request an overview of their policy based on the new ratings. Unfortunately, not all insurance companies subscribe to the ISO ratings, thus some homeowners may not benefit from the new classifications.

Driving the lower ISO figures, Opett said, is work by a committee consisting of local fire officials, county public utilities employees, and insurance agents. Stiers served as the group’s Board of Supervisors’ representative.

“Back when the last review was done in 1989, we had an all-volunteer fire department,” Stiers said. “Now we have paid fire fighters along with those volunteers.”

Opett said that in addition to a growing paid fire fighting staff, steps have been taken to man the county’s four fire stations for longer periods, upgrade training undertaken by fire personnel, establish mutual aid agreements with surrounding localities, and modernize equipment and vehicles.

“We also got credit for the 13 water systems that are county-owned in New Kent,” the chief said. “And we’ve put in new 911 procedures to get us on the road faster.

“The committee has done a lot of things to move us in the right direction,” he said, adding, “We plan to continue to do more.”

Both Stiers and Opett said they do not know why 25 years have elapsed between ISO reviews. Opett said he began working on the classification matter soon after assuming the chief’s job in January 2013.

“It’s the fire chief’s responsibility to be aware of the rating on a regular basis,” he said.