Property owners may see reduced insurance rates on March 1 after the Norman Fire Department achieved a top rating from a nationally renowned company.

Insurance Services Office, a private company that evaluates fire departments against its standards for fire suppression, has awarded the NFD its highest class rating, Chief Travis King told The Transcript.

Official word reached King on Monday. The rating is based on response times, the number of firefighter personnel, fire stations, hydrants and water supply management, to name a few criteria, King said.

The rating scale is from 1-10, with 10 being the worst. ISO performs audits every 4-6 years, King said. NFD scored a 2.5 in 2016, improved from 3.9, but with new fire apparatuses and other improvements, combined with a historic increase in personnel and fire stations since 2007, the department scored a 1 in 2020. The improvements were paid from the voter-approved Public Safety Sales Tax, adopted in 2007 and made permanent in 2015.

The distinction is a coveted one, King said with only 338 cities achieving the rating nationwide.

ISO Field Coordinator for the state’s Insurance Commission Lois Spinn said the rating says a lot about the community and the fire department.

“The achievement of a Class 1 means there is a record and history of performance and that says, ‘This is the top-of-the-line fire protection area.’ They can arrive at a scene in exceptional time. When you’re talking about structure fires, time is everything because it doesn’t take long to burn down a residence, with today’s materials. They’re there in record time. They’ve got the proper equipment to maximize their performance and not only that, but they’ve trained to such a level that their performance is outstanding. It’s a cumulative effect.”

Credit for the score also is due to the performance of emergency dispatch and water supply management, or the utilities department, Spinn said.

The rating could mean a cost savings between 4% to 8% on insurance premiums, she said.

“It might be worthwhile to check with different (insurance) companies for different discounts,” Spinn said. “Even if it was just 5%, that would be a decent discount for most folks. The commercial market is where you’re going to see a bigger impact.”

As Spinn interacts with municipalities and insurance providers across the state, she said it is clear that a better ISO rating can mean a more competitive business market. Businesses see a better rating area as less risk of damage to properties.

“They’re (businesses) looking at the bottom line,” Spinn said. “What percentage of discount, if any, will they receive by locating their business from one fire protection area to another? So, it opens up lots of possibilities, not just economically, but when you think about the health and welfare of the community.”

WHO SAVES MONEY

Not all insurance providers use the ISO rating as an indicator to inform their rate calculations, Spinn said. Oklahoma does not mandate the use of ISO ratings and she is not aware of any state which does. 

A spokesman for State Farm Insurance in Oklahoma said it does not use the ISO rating system.

“We commend efforts to improve ISO ratings; however, State Farm does not use ISO ratings in Oklahoma,” said Benjamin Palmer of State Farm. “Our homeowners’ rates are based on the expected claims experience in an area – from weather, hail, wind, water, fire, accidents, liability, theft and so on.

“To the extent that local fire department improvements affect fire losses, rates could be affected. Changes in premiums may take time though, as loss experience is collected.”

It was a different story for Shelter Insurance, although spokesman Jeff Davis did not specify a discount percentage.

“We do look at the ISO rating, so that is a key factor, but it is one out of many,” he said. “If it were the only single thing to change, then I could tell you that rates would come down a little bit. I can’t tell you a percent because each property is rated on the individual as well as the property itself — where there are lots of factors. In general, yes when the rating of the local fire department, if it goes from a three or a two, up to a one that is definitely a very positive thing and you can imagine that a rate would generally go down.”

Savings can differ between city and rural residents which is based on the distance a structure is within a fire station and fire hydrant, King said.

“The rule is you’re a 1 — everywhere where you’re within five miles of a station and 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant,” King said. “That’s basically everyone in town, where the fire hydrant system is. In the rural setting where there are no fire hydrants, you’re a 3 everywhere you’re five miles from a fire station. So, there are areas out east that are a 10. They’re not rated because they are neither within that 1,000 feet of a hydrant, and they are outside that five miles of a fire station.”

King said he will continue to ask for more fire stations.

“We’ve still got needs to address,” he said. “I understand if we can’t get it funded, but just because we got this fantastic rating does not mean we kick up our feet up and say we’re done. There’s still a lot of work to do to maintain this rating and obviously, provide the best fire coverage we can to everybody out there; that’s my goal as fire chief.”

Mutual aid agreements achieved in the last two years with surrounding departments have contributed to better ratings in rural areas, King said.

PSST

The rating would not have become a reality without the contributions of the PSST, which accounts for 20% of the fire department’s budget, King said.

Since 2007, two fire stations and 30 firefighters were added to the department, improving response times, King said. Each station staffs 15 firefighters.

“After the two stations were built, we saw a positive impact on response times,” King said. Since the last audit, we have held steady on response times. Our goal in the urbanized area is to arrive five minutes on scene. Our goal in rural Norman is 9.”

King said the PSST is giving back to those who pay it.

“It’s not just a tax,” King said. “It’s an investment, and now it’s paying dividends back to the community. So, we’re really grateful for council approval of it, the community voting in favor of it twice — and that’s really what has allowed us to fund and push forward where we are today. It’s, in my opinion, one of the bigger accomplishments in Norman Fire Department history.”

He also expressed his thanks to the Norman Police Department and the city’s Utilities Department for its share of making the distinction a reality.

“It’s all of these entities working together,” he said.

Norman joins Oklahoma City, Midwest City, Lawton, Tulsa and Broken Arrow in the Class 1 rating, Spinn said.

Editor's note: this article has been updated to reflect Spinn's statement regarding states' use of ISO ratings. 

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