Gazette, The (Colorado Springs) - Hiring career firefighters may lower home insurance

A fire department’s reliance on volunteers is one of many factors companies use to set home insurance rates, said Carole Walker, director of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association.
Whether a department uses volunteers, career firefighters or a combination affects the ISO rating assigned to each property, which is a measure of the risk of an insurance claim.
Hiring career firefighters to supplement volunteers, as some departments have done, might lower the cost of insurance. Although many volunteer firefighters have as much training and skill as career firefighters, rates could be lower in an area served by career firefighters because of the greater likelihood that the fire station will be manned 24 hours a day.

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Walker said other factors play a role in the ISO rating, including the type of trucks and equipment a department uses and availability of water to extinguish a fire. Just being near a fire station could shave hundreds of dollars annually off a home insurance premium, Walker said.
Some insurance companies also factor into rates what their clients have done to limit fire danger and damage, such as clearing brush and trees close to a home. That’s especially an issue for homes on the edge of forests, Walker said.
“The bottom line for people is if you live in a high-risk wildfire area and you’re not willing to take scientifically proven steps to reduce your risk, you may find it more difficult to find affordable insurance,” she said.
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