City maintains high insurance rating for fire suppression
Yuma has maintained its rating for its fire suppression delivery system with a leading insurance industry analyst.
The rating, which takes effect Sept. 1, means Yuma remains among the top dozen or so communities in Arizona who are all rated as Class 2 and one of about 700 nationwide with a Public Protection Classification of 2 or better.
The rating is issued by ISO Properties Inc., which supplies data and analytics for the property and casualty insurance industry.
The classification follows a survey and analysis conducted earlier this year by Insurance Service Organization of the city’s structural fire suppression delivery system.
A high PPC rating from ISO is desirable for cities, as it can often result in lower prices for personal or commercial property insurance.
More importantly, it is another measurement of how prompt and effective the city’s fire suppression services are — not only by firefighters by also the water utility, dispatch, fleet services and information technology systems that support them.
“The Yuma Fire Department is proud to serve the community and continues to strive for excellence,” Fire Chief Steve Irr said. “Our mission is to do the best we can with the resources we have available, and I believe this rating shows the community that we utilize the resources we have done so appropriately.
“We are also very appreciative of our partners within the city in the Communications Center and the Utilities Department who continue to provide the community with excellent services,” Irr added.
Effective dispatchers reduce the amount of time needed before first responders arrive at a fire, and the city’s Utilities Department makes sure there’s plenty of water for firefighters to put out blazes.
“We do all we can to maintain the water distribution system to make sure the water’s there when YFD needs to fight a fire,” said Jay Simonton, the city’s director of utilities. “We go above and beyond what’s merely required to make sure the water’s there when they need it most.”
Utilities staff members provide consistent maintenance programs for booster pumps, hydrants, storage tanks and treatment plants and quick response times whenever a there’s a leak in a water main. Pumps and storage facilities have been upgraded as well.
“We are proud to continue providing the best levels of fire service in Arizona,” City Administrator Greg Wilkinson said. “A lot goes into this designation. We make sure that YFD is well-trained and positioned to get to events quickly to save lives, save property and limit damage. We make sure the fire lines, trucks and technology are all in optimum shape when needed. And one of the results of this is to possibly save homeowners and business owners some money on their fire insurance.”
ISO’s PPC scale runs from 1 to 10, with one being the best. According to ISO statistics, only about 3 percent of fire jurisdictions nationwide were graded at Class 2 or better. Yuma is among only 24 departments in Arizona with Class 1 or 2 ratings.
Yuma first achieved its Class 2 rating in 2013.
According to ISO, most U.S. insurers use PPC ratings for underwriting and calculating premiums for residential, commercial and industrial properties. They use PPC information when deciding what business to write, which types of coverage to offer or what to charge for property insurance prices.
Insurance companies independently determine the premiums they charge policyholders. As a company’s rates can depend on other factors, such as the company’s own experience with fire-loss claims, the improved PPC is not a sure sign that rates will fall.