In 2021, Jacksonville property owners collectively saved over $100 million in insurance premiums thanks to an Insurance Services Office Class 1 rating.
Those savings are set to continue, as the city announced Thursday that it had achieved the top ISO Public Protection Classification rank for the sixth year in a row, which city officials largely attributed to the work of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department and JEA.
"When this goes into effect on July 1, it will make an impact in the community of about $242 million a year to property owners," JFRD Chief Keith Powers said at an event celebrating the rating on Thursday. "That is a big number, especially in the economy we're in right now."
Classification is determined by a city's fire department, emergency communications, water supply, public safety education and fire prevention services. Insurers use the figure to determine their risk and how to charge clients appropriately.
Fewer than 500 departments across the United States can boast that designation, and across the 47 countries that use ISO's rating system, JFRD is the largest in size and service area to hold the top ranking.
JEA, which maintains the water supply, also contributed to the ranking. JEA created a hydraulic modeling system that allowed for field testing of just a couple hundred fire hydrants to gauge the flows and pressures of all 35,000 in the Jacksonville system. Both agencies share a database that keeps them up to date on conditions and problems with every hydrant in the area.
JFRD had the largest budget increase of any city agency in this year's budget, a 12% bump that paid for a new fire station with more on the way, dozens of new positions in the department, two ladder vehicles and five water tankers.
