What's an ISO Visit.
Protecting your business is not a joke, which is why you might receive a visit from ISO someday.
What is ISO?
> Insurance services office.
> Provides:-
* Information
* Products
* Services
Related to property risk, with an emphasis on fire rates for buildings!
How Does the Process Work?
At the request of your insurance carrier, ISO will visit your business to gather the information your carrier can use to help them establish an adequate insurance premium for your building and business personal property.
Credits and Surcharges.
ISO will indicate credits and surcharges on your building's fire rate which in turn can affect your insurance premium. So it is up to help make sure they have their information right!
Determinate Your Fire Rate.
When determinate your fire rate, they will look at things like your,
1. Building's Construction
2. Operation within Building
3. Fire Protection System
4. Hazards of Occupancy
1. Building Construction
The materials used for the construction of your building can be a major factor in determining your fire rate. If you have building plans available, they can help answer some questions like:
What materials were used when building?
Were those materials fire resistant?
2. Daily Operations Inside Building.
The daily operations inside your building are very important as well.
What type of occupancy is this?
Is it a manufacturing plant, a warehouse used only for storage?
Food service with a loss of customers coming and going?
Is there more than one tenant here?
keep in mind id there is more than one tenant, each one will receive its own separate classification.
3. Fire Protection Systems.
There are a variety of items your ISO representative will look for when examining your fire protection system such as:
Sprinkler systems
portable fire extinguishers
A fire alarm systems
If applicable, restaurant protection systems.
Portable Fire Extinguishers.
Portable fire extinguishers are very important because they are easy to use in an emergency. Your ISO representative will look for how many you have in the building, along with the size, mounting, placement, and service history.
Not All Fire Extinguishers are the Same!
There are even special classifications for portable fire extinguishers. For example,
The kitchen needs a class K extinguisher to put out grease fires.
4. Hazards of Occupancy.
Another issue ISO will review is called Hazards of Occupancy or " what danger does your business post by simply exiting?"
Does your house have flammables?
Do you use cooking equipment?
Do you require dust control?
Are there heat-producing devices like ovens or kilns?
Things that seem common in your daily operations can negatively influence your rating if not properly monitored and maintained!
Preparing for an ISO Visit.
ISO offers a Preparation Checklist and a Sprinkler information sheet to help you collect the necessary information before their visit.
Don't Be overwhelmed!
If this all sounds a little overwhelming, it does not have to be! Just remember, the more information you can provide during your ISO visit, the more accurate their fire rate will be for your building.
And that means peace of mind that you will pay a fair premium for your property insurance.
To learn more about how you can prepare for an ISO visit, contact your local independent agent today.
Comments
Post a Comment