Whereas the Fire Underwriters Survey requires that in order to receive credit for fire insurance grading purposes, all first line fire apparatus in small and rural communities should be replaced after 20 years of service and may only be extended up to 25 years when fire apparatus is tested and proven to be in excellent mechanical condition; And whereas small and rural local governments often are financially challenged to replace high cost and minimally used fire apparatus on a 20-25-year rotational basis: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM petition the Province to advocate to the Insurance Bureau of Canada for the recognition and acceptance of an annual professional engineer certification of the mechanical condition of fire fighting apparatuses to extend service life beyond 20 years.
Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General While the Office of the Fire Commissioner OFC and the Province of BC do not have a role in the Fire Underwriters Survey FUS process of setting rates and gradings for fire apparatus, the OFC has committed to attempting to facilitate a discussion with the UBCM and the FUS to ensure local governments can access clear information on the rationale used in determining the FUS fire equipment rating system. The Province recognizes the challenges that small and rural communities face in delivering suppression services as well as replacing and maintaining fire service equipment such as fire trucks. Through the OFC, the Province has been conveying these concerns and the desire to extend insurance beyond 20 years for well maintained and low mileage fire apparatuses. For reference, the FUS has published a technical bulletin called INSURANCE GRADING RECOGNITION OF USED OR REBUILT FIRE APPARATUS and can be located on their public webpages at: https:fireunderwriters.caDownloads. The bulletin speaks to the standards that are referenced and used in the grading process as well as recognition that small and rural communities that are utilizing used fire apparatus may have challenges meeting the strict standards. The bulletin also outlines additional options and steps that a community can take to extend the certified life span of a fire apparatus up to 30 years. The FUS agreed to meet with UBCM to discuss these issues. The OFC has spoken to UBCM about scheduling a meeting for all three parties.
Insurance Bureau of Canada My organization, the Insurance Bureau of Canada IBC is the industry association representing 90 of Canadas home, business and private auto insurers. The insurance industry in Canada does not have an industry requirement for the 20 year lifespan of fire fighting equipment that was highlighted in the policy resolution. That said, some insurers do utilize a risk grading undertaken by the Fire Underwriters Survey FUS, which does consider the fire apparatus used by local authorities in Canada and their lifespan. A conversation with respect to this would best be placed with the FUS directly and you can contact the FUS via email here: adminfireunderwriters.ca