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ISOʼs Response to the IRC Requirement for Residential
Sprinkler Systems in Newly Constructed Homes
The 2009 International Residential Code (IRC) requires fire sprinkler systems in all new
one- and two-family homes and townhouses. Forty-six states use the IRC as the basis
for regulating new home construction.
This document summarizes some of the ways in which ISO’s products and programs
respond to the new IRC requirement.
ISO develops and publishes manuals of rules that many insurers use in calculating the
premiums for insurance policies. Those manuals are subject to review and approval by
insurance regulators in each state.
ISO’s Homeowners Policy Program Manual allows insurers to grant a discount of up to
13% on the insurance premiums for homes with residential fire sprinkler systems. Under
the approved manual rule, each insurance company determines availability of the
discounts and eligibility for them.
ISO’s Public Protection Classification (PPC™) program helps insurance companies
measure and evaluate the effectiveness of fire-mitigation services in more than 46,000
fire districts across the United States. The program gathers information about the fire
departments, fire alarm and communications systems, and water supplies. ISO uses that
information to develop gradings for each community, and many insurers use those
gradings in developing premiums for properties in the communities. In general, the price
of fire insurance in a community with a good PPC is substantially lower than in a
community with a poor PPC, assuming all other factors are equal.
One factor in the PPC evaluation is how the amount of water a community can deliver to
a fire compares with the needed fire flow (NFF) — the amount of water that should be
available for providing fire protection at selected locations throughout the community.
ISO reduces its estimate of the NFF for new subdivisions built in compliance with the
requirements of the National Fire Protection Association’s handbook entitled NFPA 13D:
Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-Family Dwellings and
Manufactured Homes.
Typically, building a subdivision with properly designed and installed sprinkler systems
reduces the amount of water needed to fight a fire and makes it easier for the water
system — supply works, water mains, and hydrants — to meet the demand. Therefore,
adopting a model building code, like the 2009 IRC, containing a residential sprinkler
requirement could help a community get and maintain a better PPC.
The PPC program is not specifically designed to prevent property loss or enhance life
safety. Therefore, ISO makes no comments on the property-loss-prevention or life-safety
elements of residential sprinklers.
ISO’s Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS®) program assesses the
building codes in effect in a particular community and how the community enforces its
building codes, with special emphasis on mitigation of losses from natural hazards. Like
the PPC program, the BCEGS program offers information that insurers can use in
determining premiums for property insurance policies.
Wildland fire and lightning are both natural hazards affecting wide areas across the
country. The ten most costly wildland fires in U.S. history caused a total of more than $8
billion in insured losses. Using the latest available data, between 2002 and 2005,
lightning strikes caused 15.3% of home fires.
To receive a favorable BCEGS classification, a community needs to adopt and enforce a
national model building code such as the IRC. ISO does not make judgments regarding
any technical aspects of the code but rather provides maximum credit for adopting the
latest edition of the code without amendments. Amendments that weaken the provisions
of the national code will reduce the points a community can score under the program.
Failure to adopt the residential sprinkler code mandated by the IRC could result in a
loss, on average, of 4 points out of the 100 points available under BCEGS for personal
lines. That point loss may or may not result in a worse BCEGS grade.
The National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System takes a
community’s BCEGS classification into account in developing a classification used in
determining the premium for flood Insurance.
ISOʼs Response to the IRC Requirement for Residential
Sprinkler Systems in Newly Constructed Homes
The 2009 International Residential Code (IRC) requires fire sprinkler systems in all new
one- and two-family homes and townhouses. Forty-six states use the IRC as the basis
for regulating new home construction.
This document summarizes some of the ways in which ISO’s products and programs
respond to the new IRC requirement.
Homeowners Policy Program Manual
ISO develops and publishes manuals of rules that many insurers use in calculating the
premiums for insurance policies. Those manuals are subject to review and approval by
insurance regulators in each state.
ISO’s Homeowners Policy Program Manual allows insurers to grant a discount of up to
13% on the insurance premiums for homes with residential fire sprinkler systems. Under
the approved manual rule, each insurance company determines availability of the
discounts and eligibility for them.
Public Protection Classification (PPC™) Program
ISO’s Public Protection Classification (PPC™) program helps insurance companies
measure and evaluate the effectiveness of fire-mitigation services in more than 46,000
fire districts across the United States. The program gathers information about the fire
departments, fire alarm and communications systems, and water supplies. ISO uses that
information to develop gradings for each community, and many insurers use those
gradings in developing premiums for properties in the communities. In general, the price
of fire insurance in a community with a good PPC is substantially lower than in a
community with a poor PPC, assuming all other factors are equal.
One factor in the PPC evaluation is how the amount of water a community can deliver to
a fire compares with the needed fire flow (NFF) — the amount of water that should be
available for providing fire protection at selected locations throughout the community.
ISO reduces its estimate of the NFF for new subdivisions built in compliance with the
requirements of the National Fire Protection Association’s handbook entitled NFPA 13D:
Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-Family Dwellings and
Manufactured Homes.
Typically, building a subdivision with properly designed and installed sprinkler systems
reduces the amount of water needed to fight a fire and makes it easier for the water
system — supply works, water mains, and hydrants — to meet the demand. Therefore,
adopting a model building code, like the 2009 IRC, containing a residential sprinkler
requirement could help a community get and maintain a better PPC.
The PPC program is not specifically designed to prevent property loss or enhance life
safety. Therefore, ISO makes no comments on the property-loss-prevention or life-safety
elements of residential sprinklers.
Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS®) Program
ISO’s Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS®) program assesses the
building codes in effect in a particular community and how the community enforces its
building codes, with special emphasis on mitigation of losses from natural hazards. Like
the PPC program, the BCEGS program offers information that insurers can use in
determining premiums for property insurance policies.
Wildland fire and lightning are both natural hazards affecting wide areas across the
country. The ten most costly wildland fires in U.S. history caused a total of more than $8
billion in insured losses. Using the latest available data, between 2002 and 2005,
lightning strikes caused 15.3% of home fires.
To receive a favorable BCEGS classification, a community needs to adopt and enforce a
national model building code such as the IRC. ISO does not make judgments regarding
any technical aspects of the code but rather provides maximum credit for adopting the
latest edition of the code without amendments. Amendments that weaken the provisions
of the national code will reduce the points a community can score under the program.
Failure to adopt the residential sprinkler code mandated by the IRC could result in a
loss, on average, of 4 points out of the 100 points available under BCEGS for personal
lines. That point loss may or may not result in a worse BCEGS grade.
The National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System takes a
community’s BCEGS classification into account in developing a classification used in
