Insurance Services Office

The cost of fire insurance could climb for residents and businesses in La Habra, based on the latest study of the city's firefighting capabilities. The Chicago-based Insurance Services Office, which sets the national standard for community fire departments, rated the city's fire-protection service as a Class 4 operation--on a scale of one to 10, with Class 1 being the best.

The cost of fire insurance could climb for residents and businesses in La Habra, based on the latest study of the city's firefighting capabilities. The Chicago-based Insurance Services Office, which sets the national standard for community fire departments, rated the city's fire-protection service as a Class 4 operation--on a scale of one to 10, with Class 1 being the best.

Insurance rating organizations such as Insurance Services Office Inc. will no longer be permitted to recommend actual rates to insurers doing business in California under a directive issued Thursday by state Insurance Commissioner Roxani Gillespie. "We have determined that advisory rates are simply not compatible with California's competitive rating system," Gillespie said in announcing the change, which becomes effective Jan. 1, 1988.

Before you leap to wild conclusions about the McCarran-Ferguson Act, it would be realistic to get your facts straight ("The Insurance Mess," editorial, March 28). This act did not exempt the insurance industry from most antitrust laws. What it did was two things: It delegated control of the insurance industry to the states, and it permitted pooling of statistical information on losses, expenses, and other related matters for the purposes of providing a broad statistical base that all companies, large and small, could use as they saw fit. The fact is, all companies deviate their rates substantially from Insurance Services Office Inc. published rates--in California and in most other states.

Before you leap to wild conclusions about the McCarran-Ferguson Act, it would be realistic to get your facts straight ("The Insurance Mess," editorial, March 28). This act did not exempt the insurance industry from most antitrust laws. What it did was two things: It delegated control of the insurance industry to the states, and it permitted pooling of statistical information on losses, expenses, and other related matters for the purposes of providing a broad statistical base that all companies, large and small, could use as they saw fit. The fact is, all companies deviate their rates substantially from Insurance Services Office Inc. published rates--in California and in most other states.

Companies selling commercial liability insurance in California will have to set rates, starting Jan. 1, without relying on prices recommended by an industry group, the state Department of Insurance said Monday. Insurance Commissioner Roxani M. Gillespie said she has approved a plan under which the New York group, Insurance Services Office, will continue to provide data on average losses and expenses to its member companies but without recommending prices.

The insurance industry defended itself against charges of reaping unreasonably high profits while boosting premiums. Mavis Walters, senior vice president of an industry group, Insurance Services Office, told the House commerce, consumer protection and competitiveness subcommittee that the insurance industry only slightly out-performs other industries in good years, while dramatically under-performing them in bad years. But William J.

Hurricane Charley may cost insurers $6.8 billion, according to the latest review of claims. The estimate of loss to homes, cars and businesses comes from Property Claim Services, a unit of Insurance Services Office Inc. in Jersey City, N.J., that surveys insurers after catastrophes. Last week the Insurance Information Institute estimated a cost of $7.4 billion. Either estimate would make Charley the second-most-costly storm in U.S.

A national insurance advisory service has rated firefighting capabilities in Glendale among the finest in the nation, city officials have announced. Insurance Services Office Inc., which rates 40,000 cities with populations under 250,000, has upgraded Glendale's rating from Class 2 to Class 1, making it one of only 15 cities in the nation to achieve the highest ranking, Glendale Fire Chief Richard Hinz said.

A firm that evaluates fire risks for insurance companies has given San Gabriel an improved rating, which means that some insurance companies will reduce their rates for commercial buildings on May 1, according to City Administrator Robert D. Clute. The Insurance Services Office in Los Angeles lowered San Gabriel's fire rating from Class 5 to Class 4 after evaluating the city's fire-fighting capabilities.

Companies selling commercial liability insurance in California will have to set rates, starting Jan. 1, without relying on prices recommended by an industry group, the state Department of Insurance said Monday. Insurance Commissioner Roxani M. Gillespie said she has approved a plan under which the New York group, Insurance Services Office, will continue to provide data on average losses and expenses to its member companies but without recommending prices.

Insurance rating organizations such as Insurance Services Office Inc. will no longer be permitted to recommend actual rates to insurers doing business in California under a directive issued Thursday by state Insurance Commissioner Roxani Gillespie. "We have determined that advisory rates are simply not compatible with California's competitive rating system," Gillespie said in announcing the change, which becomes effective Jan. 1, 1988.

Insurance rates for commercial buildings could come down a notch in Torrance because the Fire Department has received one of the highest ratings from an independent agency that ranks departments around the country. The Insurance Services Office, a nonprofit company, gave the department a No. 1 rating on a scale of 1 to 10. The last time the department was rated in 1985, it received a 3.

Tallying damages from the devastating October wildfires, insurers expect homeowners' claims ultimately to total $1.26 billion. So far, they have paid out $752.7 million, settling 84% of the 12,902 residential fire claims, according to a poll by the Insurance Information Network of California, whose member companies write more than 66% of the homeowner insurance policies in the state.