Improvement in Trumbull rating to lower cost of home insurance

Improvement in Trumbull rating to lower cost of home insurance

WARREN — Tom Gladd, Trumbull County’s chief building official, says improvement in an insurance industry measurement of the department’s effectiveness could result in improved homeowner’s insurance rates for areas served by the county department.

Gladd says it is impossible to say the actual savings amount, but the new residential rating his office received this month from the Insurance Services Office in New Jersey represents lower costs for residents and an indication that his department is improving.

The ISO evaluated the department in October and dropped the rating from a 7 to a 5. It also dropped from a 9 to a 7 in the 2003 evaluation. Ratings range from a 1 being the best to a 10 being the worst.

Trumbull County’s building inspection department oversees construction in the areas outside Warren, Niles, Girard and McDonald, which have their own inspection departments and their own ratings.

Insurance rates are affected by the ISO rating in effect at the time the home or commercial building is built, the ISO Web site says.

For the complete story, see Wednesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.