October 29, 2024 • 10 mins
Unlock the secrets behind how fire department ratings influence your property insurance rates with insights from Paul Guerrero, our seasoned insurance expert with deep roots in the Austin area. Join us as Paul demystifies the crucial role of Public Protection Class (PPC) ratings, revealing how these scores directly impact your insurance premiums. Discover the financial implications of an effective fire service and the potential skyrocketing costs if your area shifts to a volunteer fire department. With insurance premiums already climbing sharply from 2020 to 2024, Paul's real-life examples highlight why understanding these dynamics could save you a fortune.
We also tackle the pressing issue of Proposition A and its threat to fire department funding in Pflugerville. This proposition could divert a significant portion of the fire department's sales tax revenue, posing a risk to local services and, by extension, insurance rates. As early voting progresses, our call to action is clear: participate and protect your community's future. We invite you to join us at Hanover's for a watch party, where community involvement turns into cause for celebration. Engage with us, whether in person or online, and let's ensure our collective voice is heard and valued.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Chris Wolff (00:04):
Box alarm in ESD 2 box.
Paul Guerrero (00:07):
You would see upwards of either double or
triple your current insurance.
I currently, where I live, Ipay $13,000 a year for insurance
because of where I live at,with the PPC 10 and the dwelling
route to rebuild my house In2020, the average premium was
upwards of $800 a year in 2020for home insurance.
In the course of four years,it's 100% increase.
(00:30):
So the average premium wentfrom $800 in 2020 to $1,600 in
2024.
Now take that PPC-9 and go toPPC-10 or ISO-9, iso-10, and
you're talking about $2,400 or$3,600 a year for insurance.
Chris Wolff (00:47):
Welcome to a special edition of Pflugerville
on Fire.
We went out, we got a specialepisode for you all today.
We've been talking a lot aboutinsurance and how those
insurance rates for yourproperty are going to be
affected by the upcomingProposition A vote.
And we went out and we found aheavy hitter in the Austin
insurance business, mr PaulGuerrero.
He's been doing insuranceproperty insurance for 20 years
(01:11):
and, fun fact, paul is actuallya third-generation insurance man
, following his father and hisgrandfather.
Paul gives us a realisticforecast of what citizens can
expect insurance premiums to bewith a fire department that has
a reduced rating Of note.
I put Paul on the spot.
I asked him what PPC stands for.
It's Public Protection Classand very interesting, that's put
(01:33):
out by the Insurance ServiceOffice.
So in the fire biz we say ISOrating, in the insurance
business they say PPC rating.
So that's what we're talkingabout there.
This is a short episode, just10 minutes.
I hope you enjoy the show, paulGuerrero welcome to the podcast
.
Paul Guerrero (01:53):
Thank you so much , I appreciate it.
Chris Wolff (01:55):
Oh man, you're a busy guy.
We're going to keep this asshort as we can, so tell us a
little bit, Paul, how longyou've been doing the insurance
deal for and what's yourexpertise and background?
Paul Guerrero (02:05):
Sure.
So, yeah, I've been in theinsurance business now for 20
years.
Graduated from Texas TechUniversity, came straight to
Austin.
I duplicated my dad's businessmodel, which was a focus on real
estate.
So I duplicated his model, justmade it a little bit better.
And my niche is real estate.
We're really good at peoplebuying houses, people
refinancing, people switchingtheir home insurance over to us
(02:31):
stuff like that.
So that's our niche.
We lead with home insurance andthen we take care of the cars,
the condos, investment property,stuff like that.
So real estate is what I loveto do.
So I work with a lot ofrealtors here in town, a lot of
lenders here in town as theirpreferred referral source.
Chris Wolff (02:42):
A lot of people would be surprised to know that
your fire department actuallyfactors into your property
insurance.
Is that?
Paul Guerrero (02:48):
something you guys deal with a lot.
Yeah, next to credit.
A lot of people don't realizethat credit is the number one
factor when it comes to yourhome insurance rates.
And then the fire class is justas important to that as how
quickly can the fire stationrespond back to an emergency?
Can they put that fire out?
And as a firefighter, youprobably know the biggest
concern is really the housethat's on fire.
It's the houses next door, tomake sure they don't catch on
(03:11):
fire.
So, been in this business for along time, my best friend's
house caught on fire in Februaryof last year.
We had snowmageddon oricemageddon, whichever one.
It was Lost his entire house,total loss.
Chris Wolff (03:25):
And so we learned a lot in that situation.
Paul Guerrero (03:26):
So yeah, I mean the, the fire class and how fast
they can respond is a reallybig deal.
I know that because I live indriftwood.
Um, I live in a ppc 10 and myinsurance rates are ridiculous
because of where I live.
And you know, last year we hadthose droughts.
My house was within one mile ofthose fires, coming from the
San Marcos area Wow.
Chris Wolff (03:47):
Yeah, it's just so devastating when people have a
fire in their home.
And yeah, the quicker thefirefighters can get there, the
more property can be saved.
So a hundred percent.
Man that's great.
So tell us about.
You know, here in Pflugervilleeverybody all the listeners know
we're an ISO class one.
Have you had an opportunity torun any numbers on what it would
(04:07):
look like if our class changed?
Paul Guerrero (04:09):
Yes, so you would go to a more of a volunteer
fire department which is a townclass nine and a town class 10,
depending how close you are to afire hydrant.
So y'all would be a town classnine.
You would see upwards of eitherdouble or triple your current
insurance.
Currently, where I live, I pay$13,000 a year for insurance
(04:32):
because of where I live at withthe PPC 10, and the dwelling
around to rebuild my house isexpensive, and so you would see
a double to triple your currentrates.
If y'all were to go to avolunteer fire station and go
from a one which is the bestclass, your closer fire station,
your response time to a firestation is super fast and so
your rates reflect that risk.
If you don't have that and youhave to call a volunteer fire
(04:54):
department and then they got toget there and then they got pack
up and then they got to headyour place.
The fire is already out ofcontrol at that point and so
it's a total loss.
Chris Wolff (05:03):
Right, yeah, that is rough.
So, man, that is crazy.
Almost a doubling of people'sproperty insurance.
That's crazy.
Paul Guerrero (05:13):
You take that and in 2020, the average premium
was, you know, upwards of 800bucks a year in 2020 for home
insurance.
In the course of one course offour years, it's 100% increase.
So the average premium wentfrom 800 bucks in 2020 to $1,600
in 2024.
Now take that PPC nine and goto a PPC 10 or ISO nine, ISO 10.
(05:34):
And you're talking about, youknow, $2,400 or $3,600 a year
for insurance.
You do not want that Right.
Chris Wolff (05:40):
Yeah, if you're sitting there thinking this,
that could never happen.
It has happened just in thelast four years.
So so, paul, what's a PPC?
I'm not, cause I'm a fire, I'mthe fire side.
Paul Guerrero (05:51):
Yeah, a fire protection code, something
protection code, something likethat, same thing as ISO, it's
just different different,different um letters, but
essentially how far it is to afire station, how close you are
to a fire station and how closeyou are to a fire hydrant is
what those codes mean.
Chris Wolff (06:09):
Yeah, yeah, and I'm not sure if you would know, but
I bet the amount of gallons perminute that that hydrant can
produce must factor in theresomehow as well lot of times we
deal with the opposite.
Paul Guerrero (06:27):
So you built in Round Rock in 2020 or 2018.
Now Round Rock has expanded andnow they've put new fire
stations, and so we actuallytypically send in a document
from the fire station and said,hey, you've got a new fire
station, give us to yourinsurance, and the rates just
plummet down because now therisk is so much better.
So I've actually never gone theopposite direction.
Our system wouldn't even allowme to do that, to go opposite,
because it automatically pulls.
(06:47):
But most situations I'm dealingwith is, you know, a city is
becoming bigger and we'regetting new fire stations and
we're taking it from a nine to aone or a seven to a one.
And so I've actually never gonethe opposite direction.
Chris Wolff (07:00):
Which is a shame, because that's exactly what
Pflugerville has done in thelast 10 years is go.
You know they invested so muchtime and effort to become a one.
It's wild, paul.
I heard you say that it wouldbe as if going back to a
volunteer department.
Did you run any numbers on that?
Paul Guerrero (07:15):
Like if we yeah, yeah, it was, it was.
It was double to triple therate to go to a volunteer fire
station.
Yeah, it's double triple youraverage.
Chris Wolff (07:23):
Yeah, our chiefs had said that, depending on
where you were, if you were inone of the areas that browned
out of stations, you would gofrom an ISO 1 down to a 9 or a
10.
Paul Guerrero (07:32):
And that's what you mean.
Like it's the equivalent ofhaving a volunteer.
Correct.
9 and 10 is equivalent to avolunteer fire station, it is.
The response time goes fromminutes to, you know, almost an
hour, 45 minutes to an hour, andin the course of that fire, as
you know, it's uncontrollable atthat point, you know.
I mean now we're worried aboutour neighbors, we're worried
about expansion, stuff like that, and so it would be very bad
(07:57):
for the citizens of Pflugervilleif that were to happen.
Chris Wolff (08:01):
Well, paul, man, thank you so much for lending
your expertise to the citizensof Pflugerville if that were to
happen.
Well, paul man, thank you somuch for lending your expertise
to the citizens of Pflugervilleand listeners of the podcast.
We sure appreciate you.
They can.
I found you easily enough onGoogle.
Paul Guerrero (08:12):
Yes, sir.
Chris Wolff (08:13):
Paul Guerrero man.
Thank you so much.
Paul Guerrero (08:16):
Of course, let me say one more thing before I go.
Okay, absolutely.
We've come off of two to threeyears of droughts, and so we've
seen a lot of fire situationsand everyone thought, hey, it
was a great summer.
There's been a lot of rain thispast summer, it's going to be
good.
Well, as you and I probablyknow, a lot of rain means a lot
of growth and a lot of deadgrass.
That's sitting right now.
(08:36):
So we had a lot of green duringthe summer times.
We haven't had, and now that'sbeen sitting and drying out.
And then we're.
We are more of a fire riskright now than we were in the
summertime, because it grew somuch trees grew, grass grew and
hasn't been cut back, and so nowwe're in a we're in a month,
month or two long drought rightnow.
I mean everything is everythingis just straw waiting to catch
(08:58):
on fire right now.
Chris Wolff (08:59):
So it's never been more important.
We call that fuel in mybusiness, paul, yeah.
A hundred percent that is justsitting on a tinderbox there.
Yes, sir, exactly Not the timeto be reducing fire service.
I can tell you that Nope, nope,it is not.
Well, thank you so much forcoming on the show man.
I promise I'd get you in andout of here quick and you
delivered.
Thank you.
(09:19):
You gave us what we needed toknow and we sure appreciate you.
Paul Guerrero (09:22):
Yes, sir, good to talk to you guys and thank you
so much.
Chris Wolff (09:26):
All right, so that wraps up our first ever bonus
episode of the Pflugerville onFire podcast.
Big thank you to Mr PaulGuerrero.
You can Google him Prettywell-known guy over here in the
Austin area.
And that's it y'all.
We knew that Prop A you know,taking 34% of the fire
(09:48):
department sales tax revenue wasgoing to have a big hit on
insurance rates.
And there you have it.
You don't have to listen to us.
We got an insuranceprofessional on letting us know.
So that's it.
We're into week two of earlyvoting.
If you're listening to us inreal time, we need everyone to
get out there.
Proposition A is the last thingon your ballot underneath the
city of Pflugerville.
We need people to vote againstif you don't want to defund your
(10:11):
fire department.
Hope to see everybody out andabout and we'll catch you all.
Interact with us on our webpage, hit us on the show notes and
come on out to Hanover's.
We're having a victory party.
It's a watch party.
I'm thinking it's going to be avictory party.
We've gotten so much communitysupport, so much community
involvement.
We'd love to put faces withnames.
(10:31):
Come on out and hang out withus.
We'll see you there.
Box alarm in ESD 2 box.
Paul Guerrero (00:07):
You would see upwards of either double or
triple your current insurance.
I currently, where I live, Ipay $13,000 a year for insurance
because of where I live at,with the PPC 10 and the dwelling
route to rebuild my house In2020, the average premium was
upwards of $800 a year in 2020for home insurance.
In the course of four years,it's 100% increase.
(00:30):
So the average premium wentfrom $800 in 2020 to $1,600 in
2024.
Now take that PPC-9 and go toPPC-10 or ISO-9, iso-10, and
you're talking about $2,400 or$3,600 a year for insurance.
Chris Wolff (00:47):
Welcome to a special edition of Pflugerville
on Fire.
We went out, we got a specialepisode for you all today.
We've been talking a lot aboutinsurance and how those
insurance rates for yourproperty are going to be
affected by the upcomingProposition A vote.
And we went out and we found aheavy hitter in the Austin
insurance business, mr PaulGuerrero.
He's been doing insuranceproperty insurance for 20 years
(01:11):
and, fun fact, paul is actuallya third-generation insurance man
, following his father and hisgrandfather.
Paul gives us a realisticforecast of what citizens can
expect insurance premiums to bewith a fire department that has
a reduced rating Of note.
I put Paul on the spot.
I asked him what PPC stands for.
It's Public Protection Classand very interesting, that's put
(01:33):
out by the Insurance ServiceOffice.
So in the fire biz we say ISOrating, in the insurance
business they say PPC rating.
So that's what we're talkingabout there.
This is a short episode, just10 minutes.
I hope you enjoy the show, paulGuerrero welcome to the podcast
.
Paul Guerrero (01:53):
Thank you so much , I appreciate it.
Chris Wolff (01:55):
Oh man, you're a busy guy.
We're going to keep this asshort as we can, so tell us a
little bit, Paul, how longyou've been doing the insurance
deal for and what's yourexpertise and background?
Paul Guerrero (02:05):
Sure.
So, yeah, I've been in theinsurance business now for 20
years.
Graduated from Texas TechUniversity, came straight to
Austin.
I duplicated my dad's businessmodel, which was a focus on real
estate.
So I duplicated his model, justmade it a little bit better.
And my niche is real estate.
We're really good at peoplebuying houses, people
refinancing, people switchingtheir home insurance over to us
(02:31):
stuff like that.
So that's our niche.
We lead with home insurance andthen we take care of the cars,
the condos, investment property,stuff like that.
So real estate is what I loveto do.
So I work with a lot ofrealtors here in town, a lot of
lenders here in town as theirpreferred referral source.
Chris Wolff (02:42):
A lot of people would be surprised to know that
your fire department actuallyfactors into your property
insurance.
Is that?
Paul Guerrero (02:48):
something you guys deal with a lot.
Yeah, next to credit.
A lot of people don't realizethat credit is the number one
factor when it comes to yourhome insurance rates.
And then the fire class is justas important to that as how
quickly can the fire stationrespond back to an emergency?
Can they put that fire out?
And as a firefighter, youprobably know the biggest
concern is really the housethat's on fire.
It's the houses next door, tomake sure they don't catch on
(03:11):
fire.
So, been in this business for along time, my best friend's
house caught on fire in Februaryof last year.
We had snowmageddon oricemageddon, whichever one.
It was Lost his entire house,total loss.
Chris Wolff (03:25):
And so we learned a lot in that situation.
Paul Guerrero (03:26):
So yeah, I mean the, the fire class and how fast
they can respond is a reallybig deal.
I know that because I live indriftwood.
Um, I live in a ppc 10 and myinsurance rates are ridiculous
because of where I live.
And you know, last year we hadthose droughts.
My house was within one mile ofthose fires, coming from the
San Marcos area Wow.
Chris Wolff (03:47):
Yeah, it's just so devastating when people have a
fire in their home.
And yeah, the quicker thefirefighters can get there, the
more property can be saved.
So a hundred percent.
Man that's great.
So tell us about.
You know, here in Pflugervilleeverybody all the listeners know
we're an ISO class one.
Have you had an opportunity torun any numbers on what it would
(04:07):
look like if our class changed?
Paul Guerrero (04:09):
Yes, so you would go to a more of a volunteer
fire department which is a townclass nine and a town class 10,
depending how close you are to afire hydrant.
So y'all would be a town classnine.
You would see upwards of eitherdouble or triple your current
insurance.
Currently, where I live, I pay$13,000 a year for insurance
(04:32):
because of where I live at withthe PPC 10, and the dwelling
around to rebuild my house isexpensive, and so you would see
a double to triple your currentrates.
If y'all were to go to avolunteer fire station and go
from a one which is the bestclass, your closer fire station,
your response time to a firestation is super fast and so
your rates reflect that risk.
If you don't have that and youhave to call a volunteer fire
(04:54):
department and then they got toget there and then they got pack
up and then they got to headyour place.
The fire is already out ofcontrol at that point and so
it's a total loss.
Chris Wolff (05:03):
Right, yeah, that is rough.
So, man, that is crazy.
Almost a doubling of people'sproperty insurance.
That's crazy.
Paul Guerrero (05:13):
You take that and in 2020, the average premium
was, you know, upwards of 800bucks a year in 2020 for home
insurance.
In the course of one course offour years, it's 100% increase.
So the average premium wentfrom 800 bucks in 2020 to $1,600
in 2024.
Now take that PPC nine and goto a PPC 10 or ISO nine, ISO 10.
(05:34):
And you're talking about, youknow, $2,400 or $3,600 a year
for insurance.
You do not want that Right.
Chris Wolff (05:40):
Yeah, if you're sitting there thinking this,
that could never happen.
It has happened just in thelast four years.
So so, paul, what's a PPC?
I'm not, cause I'm a fire, I'mthe fire side.
Paul Guerrero (05:51):
Yeah, a fire protection code, something
protection code, something likethat, same thing as ISO, it's
just different different,different um letters, but
essentially how far it is to afire station, how close you are
to a fire station and how closeyou are to a fire hydrant is
what those codes mean.
Chris Wolff (06:09):
Yeah, yeah, and I'm not sure if you would know, but
I bet the amount of gallons perminute that that hydrant can
produce must factor in theresomehow as well lot of times we
deal with the opposite.
Paul Guerrero (06:27):
So you built in Round Rock in 2020 or 2018.
Now Round Rock has expanded andnow they've put new fire
stations, and so we actuallytypically send in a document
from the fire station and said,hey, you've got a new fire
station, give us to yourinsurance, and the rates just
plummet down because now therisk is so much better.
So I've actually never gone theopposite direction.
Our system wouldn't even allowme to do that, to go opposite,
because it automatically pulls.
(06:47):
But most situations I'm dealingwith is, you know, a city is
becoming bigger and we'regetting new fire stations and
we're taking it from a nine to aone or a seven to a one.
And so I've actually never gonethe opposite direction.
Chris Wolff (07:00):
Which is a shame, because that's exactly what
Pflugerville has done in thelast 10 years is go.
You know they invested so muchtime and effort to become a one.
It's wild, paul.
I heard you say that it wouldbe as if going back to a
volunteer department.
Did you run any numbers on that?
Paul Guerrero (07:15):
Like if we yeah, yeah, it was, it was.
It was double to triple therate to go to a volunteer fire
station.
Yeah, it's double triple youraverage.
Chris Wolff (07:23):
Yeah, our chiefs had said that, depending on
where you were, if you were inone of the areas that browned
out of stations, you would gofrom an ISO 1 down to a 9 or a
10.
Paul Guerrero (07:32):
And that's what you mean.
Like it's the equivalent ofhaving a volunteer.
Correct.
9 and 10 is equivalent to avolunteer fire station, it is.
The response time goes fromminutes to, you know, almost an
hour, 45 minutes to an hour, andin the course of that fire, as
you know, it's uncontrollable atthat point, you know.
I mean now we're worried aboutour neighbors, we're worried
about expansion, stuff like that, and so it would be very bad
(07:57):
for the citizens of Pflugervilleif that were to happen.
Chris Wolff (08:01):
Well, paul, man, thank you so much for lending
your expertise to the citizensof Pflugerville if that were to
happen.
Well, paul man, thank you somuch for lending your expertise
to the citizens of Pflugervilleand listeners of the podcast.
We sure appreciate you.
They can.
I found you easily enough onGoogle.
Paul Guerrero (08:12):
Yes, sir.
Chris Wolff (08:13):
Paul Guerrero man.
Thank you so much.
Paul Guerrero (08:16):
Of course, let me say one more thing before I go.
Okay, absolutely.
We've come off of two to threeyears of droughts, and so we've
seen a lot of fire situationsand everyone thought, hey, it
was a great summer.
There's been a lot of rain thispast summer, it's going to be
good.
Well, as you and I probablyknow, a lot of rain means a lot
of growth and a lot of deadgrass.
That's sitting right now.
(08:36):
So we had a lot of green duringthe summer times.
We haven't had, and now that'sbeen sitting and drying out.
And then we're.
We are more of a fire riskright now than we were in the
summertime, because it grew somuch trees grew, grass grew and
hasn't been cut back, and so nowwe're in a we're in a month,
month or two long drought rightnow.
I mean everything is everythingis just straw waiting to catch
(08:58):
on fire right now.
Chris Wolff (08:59):
So it's never been more important.
We call that fuel in mybusiness, paul, yeah.
A hundred percent that is justsitting on a tinderbox there.
Yes, sir, exactly Not the timeto be reducing fire service.
I can tell you that Nope, nope,it is not.
Well, thank you so much forcoming on the show man.
I promise I'd get you in andout of here quick and you
delivered.
Thank you.
(09:19):
You gave us what we needed toknow and we sure appreciate you.
Paul Guerrero (09:22):
Yes, sir, good to talk to you guys and thank you
so much.
Chris Wolff (09:26):
All right, so that wraps up our first ever bonus
episode of the Pflugerville onFire podcast.
Big thank you to Mr PaulGuerrero.
You can Google him Prettywell-known guy over here in the
Austin area.
And that's it y'all.
We knew that Prop A you know,taking 34% of the fire
(09:48):
department sales tax revenue wasgoing to have a big hit on
insurance rates.
And there you have it.
You don't have to listen to us.
We got an insuranceprofessional on letting us know.
So that's it.
We're into week two of earlyvoting.
If you're listening to us inreal time, we need everyone to
get out there.
Proposition A is the last thingon your ballot underneath the
city of Pflugerville.
We need people to vote againstif you don't want to defund your
(10:11):
fire department.
Hope to see everybody out andabout and we'll catch you all.
Interact with us on our webpage, hit us on the show notes and
come on out to Hanover's.
We're having a victory party.
It's a watch party.
I'm thinking it's going to be avictory party.
We've gotten so much communitysupport, so much community
involvement.
We'd love to put faces withnames.
(10:31):
Come on out and hang out withus.
We'll see you there.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes present: Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial
Introducing… Aubrey O’Day Diddy’s former protege, television personality, platinum selling music artist, Danity Kane alum Aubrey O’Day joins veteran journalists Amy Robach and TJ Holmes to provide a unique perspective on the trial that has captivated the attention of the nation. Join them throughout the trial as they discuss, debate, and dissect every detail, every aspect of the proceedings. Aubrey will offer her opinions and expertise, as only she is qualified to do given her first-hand knowledge. From her days on Making the Band, as she emerged as the breakout star, the truth of the situation would be the opposite of the glitz and glamour. Listen throughout every minute of the trial, for this exclusive coverage. Amy Robach and TJ Holmes present Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial, an iHeartRadio podcast.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Come hang with Amy Poehler. Each week on her podcast, she'll welcome celebrities and fun people to her studio. They'll share stories about their careers, mutual friends, shared enthusiasms, and most importantly, what's been making them laugh. This podcast is not about trying to make you better or giving advice. Amy just wants to have a good time.