BREVARD COUNTY, FL. – Residential and commercial property owners in Brevard County could potentially see lower insurance rates as a result of the county’s latest public fire protection services rating from the Insurance Service Organization (ISO).
Brevard County Fire Rescue (BCFR) is pleased to announce the updated designation from the ISO’s Public Protection Classification rating of a Class 3/3X effective Tuesday, Nov. 1.
A Class 3 department allows residential and commercial property owners the opportunity to potentially obtain lower insurance premiums along with receiving exemplary fire protection services. The ISO rating is used to measure the quality and effectiveness of fire protection in a community. The rating scale ranges from one to 10 with a Class 1 being the best possible score.
As part of its evaluation, the ISO collects information on fire-protection efforts in communities throughout the United States. ISO’s Public Protection Classification (PPC) Program helps establish appropriate fire insurance premiums for residential and commercial properties and provides insurance companies with reliable, up-to-date information about a community’s fire protection services. The formal assessment process consisted of four major areas:
- Fire Department (staffing, equipment, training, and emergency response capabilities)
- Community Risk Reduction (Safety Education, Code Enforcement, Fire Investigations)
- Water supply system (highlighting the water supply a community uses for fire suppression).
- Fire alarm and communications system (which centers on facilities and support for handling and dispatching alarms).
BCFR has been working over the years to improve the services provided to the community by investing in personnel, equipment and communications. BCFR has improved from a class 4/9, to a class 4/4X, and now a class 3/3X. This rating reflects the hard work and dedication of the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners, the men and woman of BCFR and the continued support of the community. This rating could bring about lower insurance premiums for businesses and residents in unincorporated Brevard County.
With this classification, Brevard is listed in the top 15% of fire departments across the nation, and is one of only 3,583 – out of 40,756 communities surveyed -- to achieve the Class 3 rating in the United States.
For more information on the class 3/3X rating and how this could potentially affect your insurance rate, documentation to verify the new rate and other helpful information, please visit the FAQ section of the BCFR website at www.brevardfl.gov/FireRescue.