In September of 2024, the Hilton-Parma Fire District earned a Public Protection Classification (PPC) Class 3 rating offered by the Insurance Service Organization (ISO), an increase from the previous Class 4 rating.
The Fire District would like to take this opportunity to recognize the officers and members of the Fire Department for the effort that was involved in increasing this rating. Through increased participation in training and response to emergency calls, the rating was able to be reviewed and improved for the community. This is a direct reflection on the commitment of the members that serve their community, and provide the best emergency services protection to the Fire District.
What does it mean to be a Class 3 Fire District? While the Public Protection Classification is not used to directly set insurance premiums, insurance companies do factor it in when setting their premiums. A lower PPC rating means saving money with lower premiums for the residents and businesses by providing higher levels of fire protection.
By classifying communities’ ability to suppress fires, ISO helps the communities evaluate their public fire protection services. The program provides an objective, country-wide standard that helps fire departments in planning and budgeting for facilities, equipment, and training. By securing lower fire insurance premiums for communities with better public protection, the PPC program provides incentives and rewards for communities that choose to improve their firefighting services.
ISO’s PPC information plays an important part in the decisions insurers make affecting the availability and price of property insurance. Virtually all US insurance companies, including the largest ones, use PPC information in one or more of the following ways:
•To identify opportunities for writing new business
•To achieve a reasonable concentration of property risk
•To review loss experience in various rating territories
•To price policies, offer coverages, and establish deductibles for individual homes and businesses
Insurance companies, not ISO, establish the premiums they charge to policyholders. The methodology a company uses to calculate premiums for property insurance may depend on the company’s fire loss experience, underwriting guidelines, and marketing strategy. ISO does not know how each company incorporates the PPC information into its pricing structure, so it is difficult to generalize how an improvement or deterioration in a PPC will affect individual policies.
Residents should reach out to their respective Homeowners Insurance Company, and ask if a lower Class 3 rating would have any impact on the premiums that are paid on the policy.
Commissioners,
Hilton-Parma Fire District
