Letter to the Editor: Inexplicable Rise in Insurance Rates

Dear Editor,

For all of my 40 plus years of work, I was associated with property and casualty insurance and retired from Johnson & Higgins based in New York which was the largest privately owned Insurance Broker and Risk Manager in the world. It has since merged with Marsh & McLennan to form an even larger firm. I say that to add validity to what I want to complain about.

When we opened our small B&B in Deer Harbor, I was very pleased to discover that for insurance rating purposes we were entitled to a Class 6 rating which is about as good as you could expect in a rural setting like Deer Harbor, Orcas Island. Then after enjoying reasonable rates for a few years, the area was re-rated to a Class 7. Then a couple of years ago it again reclassified to a Class 8 and this year again changed to a Class 9 because it was “commercial”. So Orcas Island has gone from Class 6 to either Class 8 or 9. I have asked everybody I have access to and the answer is “that is just the way it is”. The difference for our small B&B is a thousand dollars a year. I don’t know what that would mean to you but to us it is significant if not disabling. It seems to me our fire department is a lot better than it was 15 years ago. Why has our rating been trashed? Does anyone know?

Here is the basis of the rating by WSRB (Washington State Rating Bureau)

To determine a community’s Protection Class WSRB objectively evaluates four major areas:

• Fire Department WSRB reviews such items as engine companies, ladder companies, distribution of fire stations and fire companies, automatic aid received, response to alarms, equipment carried on apparatus, apparatus maintenance, pumping capacity, reserve apparatus, department personnel and training.
• Water Supply Water supplies used are reviewed to determine their adequacy for fire-suppression purposes. Major tasks include calculating required fire flows (gpm) for buildings and conducting flow tests to measure water pressures (psi) and volume (gpm). We also consider hydrant size, type, and installation, as well as the inspection frequency and condition of fire hydrants.
• Emergency Communications Systems The community’s 911 system is evaluated including facilities, handling and dispatching fire alarms, dispatch personnel and training.
• Fire Safety Control Fire prevention activities such as fire code enforcement, public education and building code enforcement are reviewed. After completing the field survey, WSRB analyzes the data and calculates the Protection Class for the community. The evaluation then undergoes a quality review. The community will receive a notification letter identifying the new Protection Class along with a summarizing report.

Hey, who got the letter?

Charles & Valerie Binford
The Place At Cayou Cove