Lower fire insurance rates coming to county property owners

Property owners in unincorporated Horry County will get a break on their fire insurance costs, but only if they notify their providers of the area’s new fire suppression rating.

Horry County Fire Rescue’s Insurance Services Office, or ISO, rating was recently reviewed and reclassified from a Class 5 to Class 3. That’s on a scale of 1-10 with one being the highest level a fire department can deliver.

Insurance rates are not set automatically, so Horry County Councilman Al Allen said it’s incumbent upon home owners to let their insurance companies know the change has occurred.

“It will save you a tremendous amount of money on your insurance premiums and your insurance coverage,” Allen said. “The small increase that we had in our fire millage has really paid off tremendously.”

Horry County approved a 6 mill tax increase in 2014 to sustain operations and replace the fire department’s aging fleet and equipment.

The increase amounted to $24 in property taxes per $100,000 of the assessed value of a home.

Mike Norket, deputy chief of the fire and rescue agency, said they were graded on the efficiency of the dispatch operation, county water system, and the fire department in general to achieve the higher ranking.

“Our guys worked very hard,” Norket said.

“I think it’s outstanding for a county of our size to do that,” Norket said.

As for achieving an even higher ranking in the future, Norket said that’s not out of the question.

“It’s going to be a little tough, but I think down the road if we make a few changes here and there we may be able to see that in the next few years,” Norket said.

This story was originally published August 25, 2016 at 11:11 AM with the headline "Lower fire insurance rates coming to county property owners."