Annexation concerns in Bexar County? It's effects on police and fire protection?

[smitty12]

Originally Posted by jules07

It's called the C.L.U.E report;

Frequently Asked Questions About C.L.U.E.

I had heard that not only does it "follow" the house, but also the homeowner. Example;

My neighbor was selling her house. It had a roof that needed repair/replacement (discovered during the inspection). She "cleverly realized" that the problems where due to hail damage and filed an insurance claim. House got a new roof, buyer was happy (he thinks the seller was just the smartest person ever! ). What the RE agent apparently didn't explain to them (oh, did I mention that he represent both the seller AND the buyer??? yeesh.) was that the claim would not only "follow" the house, potentially increasing the new owner's rates, but also the seller!! ha ha!

The FAQ posted does state that prior loss history can only be used if a company can show a relationship between the prior owner’s loss and the probability of a future loss to the home. In the case above I doubt that could be made, nothing about that loss predicts future likely hood of hail damage.

If the loss was for broken pipes a case could be made that other pipes in the structure might have a higher incidence of failure, therefore rates need to be raised.

[jules07]

Originally Posted by smitty12

The FAQ posted does state that prior loss history can only be used if a company can show a relationship between the prior owner’s loss and the probability of a future loss to the home. In the case above I doubt that could be made, nothing about that loss predicts future likely hood of hail damage.

If the loss was for broken pipes a case could be made that other pipes in the structure might have a higher incidence of failure, therefore rates need to be raised.

Excellent point! But, since we are in an area that is prone to hail...........

Also, the point that the loss "follows" the homeowner is intriguing. What I had heard in discussion about it (at a Realtor meeting where an Insurance agent was speaking about CLUE reports) is that if a homeowner shows a "pattern" of filing claims, that kinda alerts them. Real similar to vehicle insurance.

OH DANG!!!! This is REALLY off topic! Sorry!!!!!!!

Carry on........

[TexHwyMan]

Originally Posted by jules07

Got any sources on it TexHwyMan? I'll see if I can get an answer outta any of the agents that are in this area (we're right on the border of city limits).

Sure, how's this:

"One factor that affects your home insurance premium is how well your city copes with fires. For example, if your town has a volunteer fire department, your premiums are likely to be higher than those in a community with a professional department."

(Source: Homeowners premiums fluctuate with community's fire-fighting ability)

The rest of that article goes into greater detail about how the fire departments are graded and how that figures into insurance rates.

Some other sources:
ISO - Effective Fire Protection - A National Concern
AFC - Community Forestry - Rural Fire Protection (http://www.forestry.state.ar.us/ruralfire/rural_p5.html - broken link)
Regulators Approve ISO Fire-Protection-Class Database of U.S. Property Addresses for Insurers' Use a
CAS: Fire Protection Classification of Homeowners Insurance (http://www.casact.org/dare/index.cfm?abstrID=2807&fuseaction=view - broken link)
The Cost Of Homeowners Insurance And How To Lower It

[jules07]

Thanx TexHwyMan!!! (We can always count on you to get us the goods!!)

I'll hafta read those well, and see if it helps in the calculations I've been wanting to do. I wanna get some good hard number on how much a homeowner truly saves in the long run by not paying city taxes. Between a bit higher trash collection and potentially higher homeowners insurance (don't know about car insurance), that .5% (ish) could dwindle fairly quickly. Add in the intangibles like city police protection ~ makes ya think.

(and to quote SilverCreek) Or I could be wrong.

[TexHwyMan]

By the way, I checked my homeowner's policy and it lists a PPC rating of 3 (I'm in the city of San Antonio.)

[TexHwyMan]

I guess KENS was watching this thread!

MySA.com: KENS 5: I-Team (broken link)

[shenane]

Very interesting. It looks like the higher priced neighborhoods have the worst ratings?? What's up with that?

Originally Posted by TexHwyMan

I guess KENS was watching this thread!

MySA.com: KENS 5: I-Team (broken link)

[Bo]

Originally Posted by shenane

Very interesting. It looks like the higher priced neighborhoods have the worst ratings?? What's up with that?

The fire chief for Shavano Park claimed that the rating doesn't include new equipment that was purchased since his department was last reviewed by the rater 5 years ago. Converse was rated higher than SA because they opened a second station and purchased a bunch of new equipment that figured into their rating.

[shenane]

What about Alamo Heights and Hollywood park?

Originally Posted by Bowie

The fire chief for Shavano Park claimed that the rating doesn't include new equipment that was purchased since his department was last reviewed by the rater 5 years ago. Converse was rated higher than SA because they opened a second station and purchased a bunch of new equipment that figured into their rating.

[Bo]

Originally Posted by shenane

What about Alamo Heights and Hollywood park?

Chiefs there either weren't interviewed weren't included in the story.