Press Release Summary = The City of Orange Beach has received a grade three rating from the Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS) audit from the Insurance Services Office (ISO).
Press Release Body = The City of Orange Beach has received a grade three rating from the Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS) audit from the Insurance Services Office (ISO), based on an April, 2006, survey.
\"We now have one of the highest ratings in the state and are well above the national average,\" Landon K. Smith, CBO, CFM, City of Orange Beach Building Official.
ISO is an independent statistical, rating and advisory organization that serves the property/casualty insurance industry. ISO collects information on a communityıs adoption and enforcement services, analyzes the data and then assigns a Building Code Effectiveness Classification from 1 to 10. Class 1 represents exemplary commitment to building-code enforcement. The Orange Beach rating improved from a 7 to a three in the recent ISO analysis.
According to the ISO report, \"Municipalities with well-enforced, up-to-date codes demonstrate better loss experience, and their citizensı insurance rates can reflect that. Not all communities have rigorous building codes, nor do all communities enforce their codes with equal commitment. Yet the effectiveness of local building codes can have a profound effect on how the structures in your community will fare in a hurricane, earthquake or other natural disaster.\"
The City of Orange Beach adopted the International Building Code following Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and has strict code enforcement measures in place. ISO rates every function of the Building Dept., including natural preparedness.
\"There is no doubt that building code enforcement will result in less damage from tropical storms and hurricanes,\" Orange Beach Mayor Pete Blalock said. \"This higher BCEGS rating can also mean lower insurance rates in the city. We are proud of our Building Department and the hard work that goes into making our community as safe and as strong as possible.\"
2012
