Fire Insurance Key Terms

Ignite your knowledge of basic fire insurance key terms
By Meredith Fagioli As a business or property owner, you probably have the basic insurance required to protect your company, employees or dwelling. However, that insurance may not cover you from losses resulting from a fire caused by natural or unnatural occurrences. Fire insurance covers not only your building, but the contents of that building. To better understand this type of insurance, here are a few common terms to familiarize yourself with.

Public protection classification

The public protection classification, or PPC, is a rating on a scale of 1 to 10 that refers to the fire protection of an area. A rating of 1 is superior and a rating of 10 means that the area doesn't meet the ISO criteria for protection.
Try:  Visit Insurance Services Offices to find out more on PPC and how ISO works with the community.

Fire legal liability coverage

If your company is located in a building that you rent or lease from the actual owner, you need to have fire liability coverage. This type of coverage will protect your business and belongings, because if the building owner does not possess fire insurance, you will face an uphill battle trying to get compensation.
Try:  At Lewis-Chester Associates, you can find the technical definition of fire legal liability coverage and what it can do for you.

Total loss

If a fire destroys the contents of your building and the building itself and it can not be salvaged or repaired, you may be told that you have suffered a total loss.
Try:  United Policyholders offers some tips to see whether you are protected from a total loss.

FAIR plan

If you are having difficulty getting fire insurance, you may be referred to the FAIR Plan for help in obtaining coverage.
Try:  The David G. Sayles Insurance Company has more information on the FAIR Plan.

Declarations

The insurance declaration is the section of the policy that lists the name of the insured, the property location, the amount of coverage and other basic policy owner information.
Try:  Go to Health Insurance Online to find alternate descriptions of declarations.

Insuring agreements

Insuring agreements explain what the insurance company will pay for in the event of a fire or what services they will provide for the premium that is paid to them by the insured person or business.
Try:  There is an in depth explanation of insuring agreements at Real Deal Docs.