The Fire Department of the city of Soddy Daisy received the latest Public Protection Classification (PPC) from the Insurance Service Office, Inc. (ISO) on Friday. Based on a scale of one to 10, with ‘one’ being the best rating, the city of Soddy Daisy earned a Class 3 ISO rating in 2007.
Officials announced the city of Soddy Daisy’s rating has been upgraded to a Class 2. The ISO rates approximately 48,000 cities and communities nationwide. Of these 48,000 communities, 917 were ranked, along with the City of Soddy-Daisy, as a Class 2. Only 97 communities earned the ISO’s highest rating of a Class 1. In the State of Tennessee there are 15 Class 2 communities. These numbers are based on the PPC’s 2014 published countrywide distribution of communities.
A community PPC rating is dependent upon:
- Needed fire flows (the amount of water necessary for fire suppression)
- Emergency communications (dispatching)
- Fire department (equipment, staffing, training, geographic distribution of fire companies, operational considerations and community risk reduction)
- Water supply (inspection and flow-testing of hydrants, alternative water supply operations and careful evaluation of the amount of available water compared with the amount needed to suppress fires up to 3,500 gallons per minute)
In the total classification scale 100 points can be award, communities earning 80.00 to 89.99 receive a Class 2 rating. The ISO’s Public Protection Classification Program plays an important role in the underwriting process at insurance companies across the nation. Most underwriters use PPC information as part of their decision making process when determining what businesses to insure, coverage to offer and fees to charge for personal as well as commercial property insurance. While upgrading from a Class 3 to a Class 2 will not make a drastic difference in residential property insurance rates, it should be a substantial reduction in commercial and industrial property insurance rates.
The public announcement of the new classification will be made at the city commission meeting on Thursday, at 7 p.m. at the Soddy Daisy Municipal Building.