Homeowners insurance premiums are expected to decrease in Oxford Township and Village thanks to the fire department’s efforts.
The township was recently informed that effective Dec. 1 its Public Protection Classification (PPC) will go from a Class 7/9 to a Class 3/8B, which is very good news.
‘I was pleasantly surprised,? said Fire Chief Pete Scholz. ‘We expected it to drop, but not quite that low.?
PPC ratings are calculated by the Chicago, Illinois-based Insurance Services Office (ISO) and used to determine the level of fire protection in communities.
ISO objectively reviews the fire suppression capabilities of a community and assigns a PPC ranging from 1 to 10. The lower the number, the better.
Class 1 represents exemplary fire protection whereas Class 10 indicates the area’s fire suppression program does not meet minimum criteria.
Most insurers use PPC classifications for underwriting and calculating premiums for residential, commercial and industrial properties, according to ISO.
Assuming all other factors are equal, the price of property insurance in a community with a good PPC is lower than in a community with a poor PPC.
‘Everybody in the area should call their insurance companies and tell them that are ISO has just been redone and have them reevaluate their homeowners insurance,? Scholz said.
The PPC is based on reviews of the fire department (50 percent), water supply system (40 percent) and fire alarm and communication system (10 percent).
Out of 100 possible points, Oxford scored 70.15.
The first number in Oxford’s split classification (i.e. the 3 in 3/8B) applies to the entire village and areas in the township that are within five road miles of the a fire station and within 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant or alternate water source such a lake or pond.
‘To drop that much, from a 7 all the way down to a 3, is pretty remarkable,? Scholz said. ‘I’m very excited about it.?
The second number in the split classification (i.e. the 8B) applies to those areas in the township located more than 1,000 feet from a fire hydrant.
Going from a 9 to an 8B isn’t a significant drop, however, Scholz explained that number is in the process of being recalculated by ISO to take into account the ‘long hose lay? and ‘tanker shuttle? drills accomplished by firefighters.
Both drills were designed to make up for the property’s great distance from a water source.
The ‘long hose lay? drill consisted of firefighters laying 3,000 feet of hose and getting a minimum of 250 gallons of water per minutes flowing, all within five minutes. After 15 minutes, the firefighters were able to increase the flow 1,300 gallons per minutes.
The ‘tanker shuttle? drill consisted of surrounding fire departments continuously bringing tanker trucks full of water to a scene and emptying their contents into a portable tank.
In order to be successful, the firefighters must be able to start the water flowing within five minutes and maintain a rate of 250 gallons per minute for a minimum of 15 minutes.
Oxford’s firefighters accomplished that and were able to increase the flow to 1,250 gallons per minute.
The successful completion of both these drills should lower the Class 8B ‘considerably,? according to Scholz. He’s hoping it will go down to ‘a minimum of a (Class) 6.?
Oxford’s new PPC number should translate into lower homeowners insurance premiums for many residents.
‘It’s definitely worth checking out,? said Greg Clay, owner of the Curtis Insurance Agency in downtown Oxford. ‘For some people it could make a big difference. We’re expecting a lot of calls here that’s for sure.?
He noted insurance companies automatically factor in a community’s new ISO rating when a policy’s up for renewal.
Clay indicated Oxford’s lower ISO rating ‘should definitely bring down property rates,? meaning the premiums paid on the actual home or building, particularly in Class 3 areas such as the village.
‘All things being equal, they should see some kind of decrease,? he said.
However, he could not put an exact figure on how much insurance premiums would decrease because such determinations are made on a ‘case by case basis.?
‘Some people it could be 20 percent (lower). Other people it may be 5 percent,? Clay said. ‘It’s hard to predict exactly what your decrease would be.?
That’s because insurance companies take other things into consideration such as the age of a house, the age of its roof and how many claims a property owner’s made in the past.
‘Those kinds of things are going to factor into it as well,? Clay said.
Sometimes a low ISO rating can lead insurance companies to make negative assumptions about a community, which can also affect premiums, Clay noted
‘The lower your ISO rating is, the more crime they think is in your area,? he explained. ‘It tends to be the more well-developed, more densely-populated areas that have those lower ratings.?
Scholz gave much of the credit for Oxford’s lower PPC number to retired Chief Jack LeRoy, who had the ‘forethought? and the ‘vision? to plan the construction of two new fire stations and the acquisition of six new trucks at the start of this decade.
The chief credited voters with making this happen thanks to their approval of a $7.68 million bond proposal in November 2000.
He also thanked voters for approving the Advanced Life Support millage in May 2005, which enabled the department to hire enough full-time firefighters to staff both stations 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
‘That figures in greatly to the ISO calculations,? Scholz said.
The thousands of hours of training and practice put in by the department’s full-time and paid-on-call personnel were noted by the chief as were the contributions of Oxford’s neighbors.
‘I’d like to give credit and thanks to our surrounding departments that helped us throughout the whole process,? Scholz said.