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About the Company

Who we are and how we serve insurers, agents, and Washington state residents.  

CEO Perspective

Engaging thought leadership on key insurance industry issues from our CEO. 

Meet the Team

Get to know the team behind WSRB’s trusted data and excellent customer service. 

Careers

Learn about the benefits of working at WSRB and apply for open positions.  

Underwriting Property

A guide to key risks in Washington state: fire, wildfire, and earthquakes.

Video Hub

Expert webinars, timely discussions, and in-depth conversations with industry leaders.. 

Commercial Property

Information on loss costs, policy rating, and assessment tools.  

Industry Toolkit

Links to help you work smarter and serve your customers.  

Protection Classes

The evaluation process explained from start to finish.

WSRB Blog

News on emerging risks as well as our latest products. 

Library

In-depth content on essential insurance topics.

InsuranceEDGE

Weekly newsletter covering the P/C industry, curated by our experts. 

 
CREATE AN ACCOUNT
LOG IN

About the Company

Who we are and how we serve insurers, agents, and Washington state residents. 

CEO Perspective

Engaging thought leadership on key insurance industry issues from our CEO. 

Meet the Team

Get to know the team behind WSRB’s trusted data and excellent customer service. 

Careers

Learn about the benefits of working at WSRB and apply for open positions.  

Underwriting Property

A guide to key risks in Washington state: fire, wildfire, and earthquakes.

Video Hub

Expert webinars, timely discussions, and in-depth conversations with industry leaders.. 

Commercial Property

Information on loss costs, policy rating, and assessment tools.  

Industry Toolkit

Links to help you work smarter and serve your customers.  

Protection Classes

The evaluation process explained from start to finish.

WSRB Blog

News on emerging risks as well as our latest products. 

Library

In-depth content on essential insurance topics.

InsuranceEDGE

Weekly newsletter covering the P/C industry, curated by our experts. 
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For Fire Service Professionals 

WSRB evaluates the fire-protection capabilities of every community in Washington state on a regular basis - as a fire chief, fire marshal or other fire service professional, you play a vital role in these evaluations

wsrb-building-inspectors

Who we are and what we do 

We operate in the public interest to help insurance companies, their customers, and you. After an evaluation, we produce protection class (PC) data for each property in a community; insurance companies use PC data as one input for establishing fire insurance premiums.  

Our goal is to produce accurate data, allowing insurance companies to accurately evaluate risk and ensure that insurance consumers feel confident their fire premiums are fair. We’re an independent, not-for-profit organization, and the criteria we use is evaluated and approved by the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

We offer WSRB-sponsored Fire Service Scholarships for the Washington Fire Chiefs (WFC) Conference, Fire Prevention Institute (FPI), and Washington State Fire Fighters' Association (WSFFA). By arming local fire chiefs and marshals with up-to-date knowledge, we help create safer, better-protected communities.

Explore Scholarships

What the protection class evaluation process means for you and your community

The PC evaluation process recognizes your community’s efforts to provide fire-protection for citizens and property owners. It also gives you objective insight into your community’s ability to suppress fires, helping to identify areas for improvement.  

Insurance companies generally offer lower premiums in areas with better protection, creating an incentive for communities to improve and maintain fire protection.

As part of the PC evaluation process, we also look at building code enforcement, which we’ll explain in more detail below. 

firefighter-in-firetruck

How the protection class evaluation process works 

Our evaluation looks at four areas: 

Fire department

Engine companies, ladder companies, distribution of fire stations, automatic aid received, equipment carried on apparatus, apparatus maintenance, pumping capacity, reserve apparatus, department personnel staffing levels, and training. 

Water supply

Fire flow calculations (in gallons-per-minute, or gpm) for community buildings; these results are compared results the water system's supply capacity. Hydrant size, type, and installation, as well as how often fire hydrants and other water system components are inspected.

Emergency communications system

Facilities, emergency dispatching system, dispatch personnel staffing levels, and training.

Fire safety control

Fire code enforcement, public education, fire investigations, and building code enforcement. 

Using the data from our evaluation, we assign each community a PC of 1 through 10, where 1 indicates exemplary fire protection capabilities, and 10 indicates the capabilities, if any, are insufficient for insurance rate credit. These community PCs are used as a basis to assign the PC for each individual property in the area.

Seattle community building

Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule 

As part of our PC evaluation, we also look at building code effectiveness and enforcement to determine a community’s Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS®) classification.  

Communities with up-to-date and well-enforced building codes should experience less damage when a disaster strikes, so insurance companies use BCEGS data to help evaluate property risk.   

We collect BCEGS® information in three areas: 

Administration of codes

Evaluate the building code edition in use, modification of the code, training and certification of code enforcers, building officials' qualifications, public awareness programs, and participation in code-development activities and the appeal process.

Plan review

Look at staffing levels, experience of personnel, and level of detail in the plan review process.

Field inspection

Review staffing levels, experience of personnel, the level of detail of inspections, final inspections, and issuance of certificates of occupancy. 

WSRB analyzes the data collected and assigns a classification of 1 to 10 to the community. A Classification of 1 represents an exemplary commitment to building code enforcement; a classification of 10 indicates no recognizable building code enforcement. Any building constructed in the year a community is classified, or later, will be eligible for the classification of the community. Learn more in our guide.


Phone: 206-217-0101
Hours: 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM

 

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