Insurance Panel Rates Beverly Hills ‘Class 1’ in Fire Protection Services

Beverly Hills is about to become one of four cities in California and only eight nationwide to be ranked “Class 1” in fire protection by an insurance industry rating service.

The new classification, based on water supply, communications and the technical and manpower capabilities of the Fire Department, could mean a drop in fire insurance premiums for some commercial property owners, according to a spokesman for the rating service.

“The change will favorably affect typical mercantile properties . . . depending upon the type of building construction, the hazard of occupancy and other . . . factors,” J. Steven Cruz, assistant manager for operations of ISO Commercial Risk Services Inc., said in a letter to the city.

Other Factors

But some insurance agents said that other factors, principally the fate of Proposition 103, a rate-cutting initiative passed last year, are likely to outweigh the city’s new fire insurance classification.

Proposition 103 mandated a rollback of auto, property and casualty insurance rates to November, 1987, levels, to be followed by an additional reduction of 20%. The initiative is being reviewed by the courts.

“The nine old men up in Sacramento, what they say will have a lot more of an effect,” said Ted English, a broker for the Beverly Hills office of the George Elkins real estate and insurance firm.

“There may be a 5% or 10% effect (because of the rating), but there could be a 20% effect (up or down) because of other factors,” English said. “Who knows? Insurance is a big guessing game right now.”

Although the new rating--up from a Class 2 designation the city has had since 1976--does not apply to proposed insurance rates for single-family homes or buildings with built-in sprinkler systems, it does reflect the high priority put on fire protection for the city as a whole, Fire Chief Bill Daley said.

This includes the construction two years ago of a $9-million fire station, frequent upgrading of the city’s communications and water mains and an ongoing commitment to training and equipment, such as a $449,000 ladder truck that is about to go into service, Daley said.

He said the department shows up at fire and medical emergencies within four minutes, a response time comparable to the three-to-five-minute rate cited by the Los Angeles City Fire Department.

“The Class 1 distinction is not lightly given,” Daley said. “The members of the department are extremely proud of it and it really does recognize the long-term commitment to fire safety that the community and City Council have invested over the years.”

The ranking, which goes into effect May 1, makes Beverly Hills one of four cities in California--the others are Santa Ana, Anaheim, Stockton--and only eight nationwide with an up-to-date Class 1 status certified by ISO Commercial Risk Services Inc., an agency funded by the insurance industry.

Too Big for Rating

The Los Angeles City Fire Department, which declares itself to be a “Class 1” department in white letters on the side of every fire truck, has not undergone an ISO evaluation since 1963.

“We’re just too big, too spread-out, too populated to have an ISO rating,” said Inspector Ed Reed, public information officer for the Los Angeles department. “So we just continue with ‘Class 1’ because we haven’t done anything but upgrade since then. We certainly haven’t gone down.”

The two departments cooperate under an agreement in which the smaller department responds to fires and medical emergencies in a hilly area north of its own boundary while the Los Angeles department helps fight major blazes inside Beverly Hills.