# Advantages to ISO program



## retire09 (Apr 26, 2011)

I am scheduled for an ISO assessment this year. This will be my first time going thru this process and it looks like quite an ordeal.

I was wondering what is the advantage to participating in this program.

I know many jurisdictions bend over backwards to stretch the truth and get better ISO scores but what is to be gained from all the effort?

Is this a waste of time?


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## mtlogcabin (Apr 26, 2011)

In reality very little for your community. The elected officials have been fed the importance (real or precieved) of the ISO rating from the fire department for years. I just mention it as a reminder during budget time of the importance it is for the building department to maintain our certs and the funding it takes to do that.

You do not have to bend or backwards or spend a lot of time on it.

Is your BO an arch engineer of collage grad?

Has your jurisdiction adopted all of the latest code editions?

Does that include residential sprinklers?

Are your inspectors and plans examiner certified?

If your answer to any of these questions is no then a 4 is the best you can get and maybe a 6 for the worst. But that is when you go to council and say I need to budget for XYZ so we can improve our ISO rating for the next cycle.


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## jpranch (Apr 26, 2011)

Is this a waste of time? YES! Been there done that just last year. The ISO is as about irrevelant to the insurance rates as energy codes are from the artic to Key West Florida. They are NOT a player. I'll send you a private message with my contact information. We need to talk.


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## jim baird (Apr 27, 2011)

mt speaks truth.

In the fire department arena they have a bigger impact.  Our local FD, however, was not happy when told, to get their 5 rating, because our city has one 3 story building (only one in whole county) the FD has to have a ladder truck.


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## Mule (Apr 27, 2011)

To add to the truth of the others here is my 5 ₵ worth.

The ISO rating only applies to those structures built after the ISO review. It doesn't help any existing structures. If you had a 6 ISO rating, then went to a 4....only structures built after that rating will benefit from that review.


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## FyrBldgGuy (Apr 27, 2011)

Being an ISO veteran for both fire and building I have worked this issue for many years.  In the fire service I helped a small combination fire department go from a 6/9 to a 5/6 and that change saved a lot of individual home owners money.  I also worked with the State of Wisconsin to get a complete ISO Building rating for the state.

Contrary to other comments ISO rates for fire, building departments and to individual buildings.  All of that contributes to each individual property insurance rating.  The real issue is on the other side of the equation.  If a individual building owner gets insurance from a company that uses ISO data then it can help or hurt.  If the building owner goes through a company that does not use ISO then it does not matter.

The data is used on existing and new.

I can understand in these troubled times why a building department would just say no to an ISO review.  The building department will never see the impact after the review.

Fire Departments see the impact because home owners often call to get the ISO rating for their policies.

The rating data may indicate that a building department should make some improvements just like it does with fire departments.  But then is that really a bad thing?


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## mtlogcabin (Apr 27, 2011)

Call your local insurance agents and ask them if the building department ISO rating will reduce your rates? I bet the answer will be no for the vast majority

Look at the link below the rating only applies to the buildings built within the time frame the rating was in place not the whole community.

http://www.isomitigation.com/bcegs/0000/bcegs0004.html#q14


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## fatboy (Apr 27, 2011)

I swore after I did it in 05 I would tell them to pack sand when they came around again. But, the first thing they do is send the City Manager (or whomever is in control) a letter telling them what the last ISO rating was, and that it is time for a review. Well, my CM was PO'd that we were ranked at 4, why weren't we at a 1? When I explained that I would need to double or triple my inspection/plan review staff, get my masters degree so I can become a PE, multiply my training budget by a gazillion, and a few other things......he at least underastood, but instructed me to submit to the process.

I'd still like to tell them to pack sand...........:banghd


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## fatboy (Apr 27, 2011)

I swore after I did it in 05 I would tell them to pack sand when they came around again. But, the first thing they do is send the City Manager (or whomever is in control) a letter telling them what the last ISO rating was, and that it is time for a review. Well, my CM was PO'd that we were ranked at 4, why weren't we at a 1? When I explained that I would need to double or triple my inspection/plan review staff, get my masters degree so I can become a PE, multiply my training budget by a gazillion......he at least underastood, but instructed me to submit to the process.

I'd still like to tell them to pack sand...........


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## Min&Max (Apr 27, 2011)

ISO has one and only one benefit---you can use it to get additional dollars from your jurisdiction for your building department. Other than that it is meritless and a complete and utter waste of time. Mule, jpranch and mtlogcabin are 110% correct in their statements.


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## texasbo (Apr 27, 2011)

I'm glad to see you guys realize this program for the B.S. that it is. I've asked them numerous times to give me real live numbers on the insurance rates for homeowners in my jurisdiction based on the span of ratings. They have yet to do so. Therefore,  I have yet to waste my valuable time jumping through hoops for them, although I have provided some info to the FD for their ISO rating inquisition.


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## jpranch (Apr 27, 2011)

Talk to your local insurance agents. They will tell you there is little to no impact. Example: In our jurisdiction the difference between a rating of 4 to an 11 rating would mean $6 to $8 a year to the average homeowner. And yes there is an 11 rating. 11 just means that your jurisdiction does not participate in the ISO program.


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## rshuey (Apr 27, 2011)

I jumped through the hoops last week. Got a 3/3, whatever in the hell that means.


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## mtlogcabin (Apr 27, 2011)

> *I jumped through the hoops last week. Got a 3/3, whatever in the hell that means. *


*Since you asked it means you are in the top 18%and you can go hoist one with your staff :cheers after that make sure you keep telling the powers to be that your training budget can't be less than 2% of your annual operating budget and your public awareness programs expenditures have to exceed .5% of your annual operating expenses. *

*Are the properties you’re insuring in communities at the head of their class?*

*BCEGS Class 1–3*

Just 18 percent of BCEGS evaluations result in a Class 1, 2, or 3. A building-code enforcement department that scores in that

range enforces the latest model code without amendments that would weaken the code’s ability to reduce damage from natural

hazards. The department has all the resources required to enforce its adopted code rigorously. The department also has a sufficient

number of trained and certified staff to devote adequate time to plan reviews and inspections.

*BCEGS Class 4–6*

The majority of communities ISO surveys (67 percent) earn a BCEGS Class 4, 5, or 6.

Such a department may not have earned enough BCEGS points on criteria such as:

• inspection staffing

• plan review staffing

• training

• continuing education

• building-code adoption

• building-code amendments

Employees may be receiving on-the-job training but may not have certification in their

areas of responsibility. Or perhaps record keeping and other management functions

haven’t earned maximum points.

*BCEGS Class 7–10*

Only about 15 percent of the communities ISO surveys receive a BCEGS Class 7, 8, 9, or 10. A department in that range probably

hasn’t earned enough BCEGS points on a number of evaluation criteria, or it has scored poorly on key criteria. Typically, such a

department is enforcing a building code seven or more years old or a more recent code edition that the state, county, or local

jurisdiction has amended to reduce its effectiveness against a natural hazard prevalent in the area.

*BCEGS Class 98*

BCEGS Class 98 is restricted to building-code enforcement departments in the state of Florida. Florida legislation mandates a 1

percent insurance surcharge for risks within the jurisdictional boundaries of a building-code enforcement department that

declines to participate in the BCEGS program.

*BCEGS Class 99*

ISO can assign a BCEGS Class 99 to a building-code enforcement department for

several reasons:

• The community developed properties before the initial BCEGS evaluation of the

building-code enforcement jurisdiction.

• The building-code enforcement jurisdiction doesn’t meet the minimum requirements

for participating in the BCEGS program.

• The building-code enforcement jurisdiction declines to participate in the BCEGS

program


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## Alias (Apr 27, 2011)

ISO reviews aren't too bad timewise.  I will agree that I don't see much use for them though.

Along with fatboy, I do them because the city council expects and mandates me to do it.  I will say that on the last one a couple of years ago we scored a 4.  Prior rating was a 9.  Council was happy with that news.


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