ISO Ratings

YOUR GUIDE TO INSURANCE SERVICES OFFICE (ISO) RATINGS

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Because fire is the largest single cause of property loss in the United States and fires injure approximately 20,000 Americans annually, evaluating the risk of fire is of keen interest to insurance companies.  Instead of blindly paying billions of dollars in claims for fire damage, these companies use a rating system to charge policy holders fees relative to their fire risk.  Insurance companies believe that a community’s investment in fire mitigation is a proven and reliable predictor of future fire losses and therefore encourage communities to mitigate that risk.  Since 1971, the ISO has maintained the risk database and issued these ratings through its Public Protection Classification (PPC) System.

ISO PPC Ratings are on a scale of 1 to 10.  Class 1 represents exemplary fire protection; Class 10 indicates that the area’s fire-suppression program does not meet ISO’s minimum criteria.

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The Columbus Fire Department was founded in 1949 and has grown to what it is today, rated a split class 5/5 department by the Office of the State Fire Marshal and Department of Insurance. The new class 5 rating applies to properties with a fire flow of 3500 gpm (gallons per minute) or less and within 1000’ of a fire hydrant. We are happy to provide the citizens of Columbus Fire District with a lower ISO rating which will decrease their homeowners insurance.

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For more information on ratings please click HERE. 

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