TYLER, Texas — For the last 10 years, the city of Tyler has been ranked a '2' by the Insurance Service Office (ISO).
The ISO uses uniform criteria to review fire suppression capabilities for communities and assigns a ranking from 1-10, with one being the best.
"A lot of insurance companies use it to set insurance rates," Fire Chief David Coble said. “Those rates determine how much you pay for your homeowners insurance based on the area that you live in. Also, commercial rates as well.”
A city’s water quality, fire protection and safety are among the criteria evaluated for a ranking.
“Forty percent of it is hydrant and water distribution,” Coble explained. “So how close are you to a hydrant and the pressure of those hydrants.”
The average cost of home insurance in Tyler is about $1,400 a year, according to insurance.com. That’s about $600 less than the state average.
Coble said the ISO ranking happens about every 10 years. Before that happens, he has asked for the city to budget to have a consultant come in.
“That consultant is going to evaluate the city,” the fire chief explained. “Then we will already know the things that we need to fix ahead of time.”
It is not a quick process though. Coble said the consultant would come in 2020 and ISO either late 2020 or early 2021.
"We're hoping to maintain the '2,' so that keeps us at very good rates here in Tyler," Coble said.