SMFD is now a Class 1! - Southern Marin Fire District Receives New ISO Rating

UPDATED: August 31, 2016

The Southern Marin Fire District (SMFD) received official confirmation that SMFD earned a new PPC from ISO and have been re-rated to a Class 1/1X, or more simply stated, a Class 1 Department.

Last year, ISO conducted a re-evaluation of Southern Marin Fire. Prior to this re-evaluation, SMFD was rated a PPC Class 3 for the District and a PPC Class 5 for the City of Sausalito.  The re-evaluation earned SMFD a Class Rating of 2/2X. 

After receiving the new PPC of 2/2X, Fire Chief Tubbs began to analyze the report, scoring and information and found several anomalies in the report. Chief Tubbs requested a meeting with ISO to understand these anomalies.  As a result of this meeting with ISO, it was discovered that SMFD received an incorrect credit for current daily minimum staffing levels.  The District’s ISO representative re-calculated the score and submitted an updated application.  As a result, the District received a new classification, achieving a Class 1 rating for the Southern Marin Fire District including the City of Sausalito. 

Click here to read the ISO report:

ISO Report 8-2016

ISO Letter - PPC Rating of 1

 

In July 2015 The Fire District was notified by the Insurance Services Office (ISO) that the District was due for an ISO review and update to its current public protection class (PPC) rating.   In September the ISO initiated the analysis with the Southern Marin Fire District.  Over the past seven months ISO and the District conducted the analysis and recently ISO completed their review and classification. 

The Fire District received notification of the results of the review and their new classification which is very good news for residents and businesses within Sausalito and the Fire District.  The City and Fire District have a new Classification Rating of 2/2X.

Owners of residential homes and property, as well as owners of commercial buildings are impacted by these ratings.  They are the basis of how insurance premiums are established and how many insurance companies are able to offer insurance premiums.

The Fire District was last rated in 2000 and received a PPC rating of 3, and the City of Sausalito was last rated in 2003 and received a PPC rating of Class 5.  The rating scale from best to worse is One (1) – Ten (10). 

Insurance Carriers use a communities Public Protection Classification rating to: 1) identify opportunities for writing new business; 2) manage the quality of community fire protection across their business lines; 3) review loss experience in various rating territories; and 4) offer coverage and establish deductibles for individual homes and businesses.  In general, improving Classifications results in lower insurance premiums for our commercial occupancies.  For residential homeowners it most often does not directly offer lower premiums but results in more competition for insurance and that can result in lower premiums.

Citizens and business owners are encouraged to contact their insurance companies and inquire about the potential improvements to the current premiums.