ISO Rating.

What is the ISO rating?

The Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating is the result of an evaluation of each fire district's fire fighting capability and the associated water system. The fire department measurement is 50% of the rating while the water department is 40% and the dispatch area is 10%. This rating is then used as a benchmark for insurance companies to set premiums within a geographic area. The rating is on a 1 to 10 scale, 1 being the best possible rating, 10 being the worst (also known as unprotected).

What does this rating mean to our community members?

The better our rating the lower your homeowners insurance premiums. This could mean a substantial drop by just one point better on our ISO rating.

The Department currently has an ISO rating of 9. This is the largest class, with 31.5% of the departments in the United States, and 38% of the departments in Georgia. Many of those departments are like ours, in rural areas. But there are rural departments in the US that have a low rating. It is possible, and we are attempting to lower ours a much as possible. The past year has been spent preparing for an inspection to attempt to lower that rating down to a 6 or 7.

What does Class 9 represent? Usually, it's evidence of a recognized fire department with no recognized water supply. To be recognized for fire protection, our water supply must be able to deliver at least 250 gallons per minute, uninterrupted, for two hours. One of the best means of decreasing a department's rating, is by installing an adequate water supply system with fire hydrants. As that is not always an option, based on community budgets, the most common way to lower a department's rating is to substitute with a tanker shuttle operation. The department currently has one tanker to assist with this, but is attempting to increase that availability with additional resources. Although these are the most common areas of a rating, the checklist includes many, many different items that are taken into account. For more information pertaining to rating, please visit the ISO Mitigation Online.

The department is involved in an ongoing process of preparing for another inspection to lower it's rating by at least 2 points. Continued support by the local community, as well as the Liberty County Fire Authority is increasing our chances of having a successful inspection.

Specific questions regarding the schedule of rating can be directed to your insurance agent.