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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 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 Insurance Consumers

Learn what our work means for you

homeowners-renters-insurance-1

Fair. Transparent. Independent.

Our mission at WSRB is to serve the public interest, ensuring that the property insurance market in Washington state operates fairly and transparently, utilizing the highest quality data available. While our primary customers may be insurance carriers, the work we do has a direct impact on consumers - homeowners, business owners, and communities across the state.

Learn more about our history and mission and about the PC evaluation process.

Has your insurance company told you that your premium change is due to a protection class (PC) change?
We’re happy to answer any questions you have! Contact our Customer Service team at 206-217-0101
(available between 7:30 AM and 4 PM, Monday through Friday)

Why WSRB? 

By the turn of the last century, a lack of regulation and transparency in the emergent insurance industry left consumers vulnerable to inconsistent and unfair pricing.

In response, the Washington State Legislature passed a new insurance code in 1911. It required the foundation of an organization to set rates for fire insurance. Such an organization had to be:

  • Non-profit and publicly oriented
  • Independent from insurers
  • Owned by trustees acting on behalf of all subscribers
  • Resident and domiciled in Washington State

These reforms laid the foundation for The Washington Survey and Rating Bureau (WSRB), created in May 1911 to operate as a non-profit public service organization, committed to bringing consistency, fairness, and oversight to property insurance rating in Washington.

Olympia
Washington State Neighborhood Highlands

Our role today

More than 100 years later, WSRB continues to uphold those principles. Here’s how our work supports insurance consumers every day:

Promoting compliance

We help ensure insurance companies follow state-approved forms, filings, and rating practices.

Ensuring fairness

We provide insurers with objective, standardized data, ensuring that pricing is based on real-world risk, not subjective guesswork.

Protecting transparency

We maintain independence from insurers, ensuring that our evaluations and classifications are free from market pressure.

Empowering communities

By working with local fire departments and municipalities, we help improve public protection—and enable communities to qualify for lower insurance rates through better services.

Answering questions

We offer information for property owners looking to understand their protection class (PC), check loss cost data, or simply learn more about how fire risk affects their insurance. Contact our Customer Service team to learn more.

Bridging public and private 

WSRB is the link between public services (like fire response) and private insurance decisions. Our goal is to make sure those decisions are rooted in data that’s fair and accurate for everyone.

WSRB regularly evaluates each community in Washington state

Do you have a homeowners or renter’s insurance policy in Washington state?

Your insurance company may use WSRB data when setting the part of your premium that covers fire. Insurance companies are not required to use our protection class (PC) data, but many do. If your insurance company uses WSRB PCs, the data is one of several factors affecting your insurance premium.

We look at how well-equipped the area is to respond to fires based on four key factors: 

Fire department

Including distribution of stations, staffing levels, equipment, and personnel training. 

Water supply

Including water flow capacity, fire hydrant location, and maintenance. 

Emergency communications system

Including dispatching system, staffing, and training. 

Fire safety control

Including fire code, building code enforcement, and public fire education programs. 

Following an evaluation

We assign a community a PC from 1 to 10. A PC of 1 represents exemplary fire-defense capabilities; a PC of 10 indicates the community’s capabilities, if any, are insufficient to receive insurance rating credit. Using the community PC as a base, we assign each individual property a PC, factoring in the distance to a recognized responding fire station and the proximity to a standard fire hydrant.

There’s more information about protection class in our Guide to Community Ratings and our Protection Class FAQ.

If you have additional questions, contact our Customer Service team or visit the Help Center.

Seattle Neighborhood Ballard


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

 

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