Troy fire services evaluation could lower insurance rates
By Brian Stanley bstanley@stmedianetwork.com March 15, 2013 8:58PM
Updated: April 20, 2013 6:11AM
SHOREWOOD — Home and business owners may have lower insurance premiums after a recent evaluation of fire services.
Troy Fire Chief Steve Engledow said the village improved its Insurance Services Organization rating from 5 to 3.
The fire department accounts for half the grade. Water supply and emergency communications are the other half of the evaluation score.
Not every insurance company uses ISO ratings, but they are an industry standard and each point lower on the scale should mean a 1 percent savings for residential premiums and 3 percent for commercial.
“It’s certainly worth checking with your insurance company and the fire department can be contacted for any documentation that’s required,” Engledow said. The new ISO rating does not apply to unincorporated Troy Township, but Engledow expects future improvement there as well.
“This is something we’ve been working on for a few years with the village — pumping capacity has been improved and we’ve tailored some of our training to the ISO (criteria),” Engledow said.
ISO ranks response time, personnel, equipment, station distribution and training for the department. Hydrant condition and distribution and circuits provided for emergency calls are also considered.
“This has taken a great effort from the dispatch center, village water department and fire protection district,” a proud Engledow said.
