New Bemidji fire station could help lower insurance costs

Feb. 15--BEMIDJI -- Aside from providing a shorter commute for firefighters responding to the northern reaches of their coverage area, Bemidji's recent addition of a new fire station could have the potential to reduce insurance costs for area homeowners.

The Bemidji Fire Department recently received a new review from ISO's Protection Classification Program. And, as a result of the department establishing a new station north of town, a number of properties have received a new classification from the ISO.

"That was a significant enough change for ISO to come in and do an evaluation of our department," Bemidji Fire Chief Dave Hoefer said about the department's new north-end station on Winter Sumac Road NW.

ISO is an independent company that evaluates communities for the insurance industry. The company uses a number system, ranging from one to 10, to indicate how well a property is protected against threats.

Part of that system indicates how close a property is located to a fire station. With the addition of Bemidji's new station, a number of properties got bumped up to Class 3, meaning they are now within 5 miles of an established fire station. The change of classification will go into effect May 1.

"Most U. S. insurers use PPC information as part of their decision making when deciding what coverages to offer or prices to charge for personal or commercial property insurance," Hoefer said in an email.

Hoefer said the new classification will affect about 3,500 people, about 1,500 address points and about $220 million in building values. Those new additions have been added to a larger area in and around Bemidji that is within 5 miles of at least one of the department's four stations. That larger group includes 29,000 people more than 11,000 address points, and more than $2 billion in building values.

"We're impacting lots of folks," Hoefer said.

In addition to the individual properties, ISO also evaluated the department's coverage area overall, which it bumped up from a class 4 to a class 3.

The Bemidji Fire Department's new station is located about 2 1/2 miles beyond the Beltrami County Fairgrounds, just off U.S. Highway 71. The other three stations are located downtown at 318 Fifth St. NW, in Nymore at 312 Lake Ave. SE, and near the airport at 3810 Moberg Drive NW.

The recent ISO classification change is the third for the department since 2012. And while it is uncertain how much the new classification may affect insurance rates, Hoefer said each of the previous ISO classification changes resulted in savings to the community.

"The previous improvements have easily been in the six-figure range for annual savings in insurance premiums for the Bemidji community," Hoefer said.

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