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Chief: ISO rating decline has left about 150 residents at risk of insurance changes; city preparing letters and a long-term plan
Summary
Guadalupe's public safety chief told the council the city received a lower ISO fire rating that may prompt insurers to cancel or raise policies for roughly 150 residents; staff will prepare letters, work with agents, and pursue a year-long ISO evaluation to remediate the issue.
Guadalupe's director of public safety, Chief Cash, told the City Council Oct. 14 that a lowered Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating for the city's fire services has prompted some insurance companies to notify homeowners they may face cancellations or higher premiums, and the city is taking steps to assist affected residents.
"We're working with the insurance companies, because of a rating that we received, for our fire department, unfortunately, our rating went down, due to staffing, but we're working on a plan. Some people, in our community are receiving notices that either their insurance their fire insurance is going to be canceled, unless, we were able to, rectify our rating system," Chief Cash said. He told the council he has been in contact with ISO and is preparing letters to provide to residents and insurance agents while the city pursues longer-term corrective measures.
Chief Cash said staff's current understanding is that about 150 residents have been identified as at risk by insurers; the number of affected households and which insurers contacted them vary. "Our understanding is about a 150 residents have gotten, are at risk," Chief Cash said during council discussion.
What the city is doing - Immediate outreach: Chief Cash said the city will prepare letterhead and written responses for residents and agents, and asked residents whose agents contact them to have the agent call the city so staff can respond with property-specific information (distance to station, hydrant proximity, staffing levels).
- Short- and long-term fixes: Staff are preparing a plan to address ISO criteria, including documenting staffing and water-pressure assets. Chief Cash said ISO's formal re-evaluation process may take up to a year; in the interim the city intends to provide documentation to agents to help residents maintain coverage.
- Related preparedness work: Chief Cash reported other resilience steps, including a pending grant from the Fire Chiefs Association to supply automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and work to centralize emergency assets and backup generators.
Discussion and questions Council members asked whether the city has a unified public message and how residents will be informed. Chief Cash acknowledged the complexity: insurers ask for different pieces of information (distance to fire station, hydrant distance, staffing counts) and staff will provide individualized responses as requests come in. A council member recommended non-reactive community education and consistent messaging through city channels rather than immediate widespread ticketing or enforcement activity (a different discussion point on other items).
Ending: Chief Cash said staff will continue collecting agent contacts, prepare formal letters for affected homeowners and agents, and pursue the ISO reassessment process while looking for operational measures to improve the city's rating and limit insurance impacts for residents.
