Homeowners might get break on insurance

WASILLA — Homeowners in the Fairview Loop and Horizon Drive areas should plan to have a talk with their fire insurance carriers.

Central Mat-Su Fire Department opened two new fire stations in 2010. One was on Horizon in the Knik-Goose Bay Road area, the other on Fairview Loop across from Snowshoe Elementary.

Central Mat-Su Fire Service Area assistant Tara Mellon said that soon after the stations opened, the Insurance Services Office got in touch with the department.

“After we built those two new stations on Fairview and Horizon they said, ‘Oh, hey, we’ve got to come back out and check your classification again,’” Mellon said.

ISO ratings are one important yardstick fire departments use to measure their performance. They’re also what homeowners insurance companies use to determine how much people should have to pay in premiums. A one-point difference in a rating can mean hundreds of dollars for a homeowner.

Mellon said that for some reason while ISO was conducting its review, some insurance carriers got wind of it and bumped up insurance rates.

Mellon said the department started getting calls from homeowners asking what was up with that.

“(Carriers) double and tripling their insurance rates,” Mellon said.

While it’s unclear what, exactly, was up with that, the problem should be fixed now, Mellon said.

When ISO was done, it ruled that those portions of the fire service area should keep the rating Central has had since 2006 — class 4.

Which is not to say those two stations didn’t have an effect. Central’s rating has always been class 4 with a caveat — people living more than five miles from a fire station see their rating drop to 10, the same as having no fire service at all.

Those two new stations filled in some gaps in coverage. Essentially, there are now very few, if any, people in the Wasilla Lakes Fire Service Area who live more than five miles from a fire station.

“In between Horizon and (the fire station on Point MacKenzie Road) there may be some areas that are still unprotected,” Mellon said.

She said people who live near the new stations should call to make sure their insurance carriers are aware of what the current rating is. It might save homeowners some money.

“This should affect a lot of people,” Mellon said.

Mellon said folks need to make sure they give their street addresses exactly as they appear on borough property records — that “west” and “road” and such are abbreviated, or not abbreviated, just like the borough does it.

To check your property records, visit matsugov.us and select “myProperty” from the “Property and Maps” tab.

Folks with questions about the ISO ratings can contact Mellon at 373-8827. Insurance companies wondering about ISO ratings can call ISO at (800) 444-4554 and select option two.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.