Fire service upgrades lower insurance rates

March 28, 2006

MARY AMES

Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - Good news for homeowners in the Central Mat-Su fire service area is coming in June, when years of planning, purchasing and training could mean a reduction in fire insurance premiums, thanks to a better rating by the Insurance Service Office.

&#8220Our analysis shows that with the new Class 4 rating, a $1,500 fire-insurance policy on a $200,000 home would be reduced to $1,000 to $1,100 on average,” said Jack Krill, chief of Central Mat-Su. &#8220Talking to folks, that seems to be pretty accurate.”

The ISO is an independent organization funded by the insurance industry to provide data on property protection every 10 to 15 years, Krill said. The ISO issues ratings from Class 1 to Class 10, with the higher number reflecting a lower rating. A rating of 10 means basically no coverage at all, Krill said. By way of comparison, Anchorage, with a full-career department, has a rating of 3, he said.

In 1993, Wasilla and Lakes fire service areas were legally combined into Central Mat-Su for only a couple of years, Krill said. The ISO gave the areas within 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant a Class 4 rating, the rest of the area received a Class 8B, which is not quite as bad as a Class 9, and not quite as good as a Class 8, he said.

In outlying areas, firefighters use water tankers, shuttling them to the fire for a constant supply of water. Tankers must be able to maintain a 250-gallon-per-minute water flow to a fire to get a Class 8 rating, Krill said.

In fall 2003, when the ISO last looked at the department as part of a regularly scheduled rating assessment, Central Mat-Su got a Class 5 for the city and a Class 9 for the outlying areas, Krill said. The low rating was partly due to bad timing, with a lot of transition in the department and no chief at the time, he said.

When Krill got the rating notice in January 2004, he couldn't let it stand.

&#8220I appealed,” Krill said. &#8220I put together an improvement plan. They followed up every six months to see our progress.”

The appeal and the improvements mean that Central Mat-Su received a Class 4 rating this month, without having to wait another 10 to 15 years.

&#8220This is a huge impact on insurance premiums,” Krill said. &#8220It could mean upwards of millions in savings to the community.”

Central Mat-Su put in an additional station went on Fairview Loop last fall in a temporary location, with plans to build a permanent station close by.

&#8220Now, everyone is within five miles of a fire station,” Krill said. &#8220The only gap area is between 12 Mile and 16 Mile Knik-Goose Bay Road. We hope to build a station there this fall, which should cover 95 to 98 percent of the area.”

In August, an ISO field representative came up to do several evaluations around the state, Krill said. The rep spent two days with Krill, going through every truck, all the stations' records and the dispatch center, looking at every little detail.

&#8220There is a specific grading scale that I used to plan for fire protection, to get every point we can,” Krill said. &#8220We made sure every truck was as compliant as it could be, the records were accurate, the dispatch protocols were adjusted and we had an improved radio system. It wasn't easy, there were a lot of little things, and amazing details, but now we have a good benchmark that we are doing

the right thing for the community.”

Because of the size of the coverage area, the department put in a second circuit on the radio system for backup and got more equipment and radios.

&#8220He was very impressed,” Krill said of the field representative. &#8220He said he didn't think we could improve so much in such a short time.”

Another area ISO looks at is the average number of people who respond to a fire, he said. In 1993, Central Mat-Su averaged 20 paid on-call volunteers.

&#8220We wanted to increase that number,” Krill said. &#8220We want an extra crew there as a rescue crew on standby in case of injury or entrapment. Our goal is 25 firefighters for every structure fire, with the ability to fight two fires at once, and a third crew available at any one time.”

Krill said the department met that goal 92 percent of the time last year.

&#8220Sometimes fires get brought under control before all the people show up,” he said.

Central Mat-Su provides fire protection to about 50 percent of the Mat-Su Borough, and calculating the assessed value on properties within their area, Krill said overall savings could amount to $12.4 million in insurance premiums.

The ISO gives notice to area insurance companies this month and the rating change will take effect on June 1, Krill said. He suggests property owners contact their insurance agents to find out if, and by how much, the change will affect them.

&#8220The insurance industry is a competitive market, just like any other commodity you buy,” he said. &#8220Most insurance companies use ISO specifically, but some companies come up with their own data to make their own rates.”

Contact Mary Ames at 352-2284 or mary.ames@ frontiersman.com.