Verisk reached a national milestone this past February with the recording of 8.9 million hydrants in our GIS fire hydrant database.
The GIS database is the only one of its kind in the United States and includes the precise location and functionality of each hydrant as well as other static water supply sources. We add an average of 20,000 hydrants to the database every month.
ISO Public Protection Classification (PPC®) program
The information on hydrants is a key component of our ISO Public Protection Classification (PPC®) program, which analyzes the quality of fire protection in more than 41,000 communities around the country. With 2016 annual insured property losses due to fire exceeding $19 million in the United States, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III), the availability of operational fire hydrants is essential to reducing loss severity.
Verisk is proud of our strong service to communities through the accuracy of our ratings, and we understand the value of measuring all metrics related to fire protection. We also analyze many other key components to make sure our rating takes into consideration every possible factor. That includes training, the actual responding fire station, the location of the nearest accessible fire hydrant or water supply, and many other areas. We send our ISO community field analysts on-site to compile and electronically map the exact positions of fire stations, water sources, and fire protection area boundaries. PPC is used by more than 225 insurance companies that serve more than 75 percent of the U.S. population.
LOCATION® PPC Service
Insurers can get fire protection information through the LOCATION® PPC Service, delivered as a database, online, or through a web service connection.
