Thanks to a paperwork oversight, Ferriday residents and business owners could end up paying hundreds of dollars more in fire insurance premiums.
Mayor Gene Allen revealed that Acting Fire Chief Snetville Polk, who filled in after the former chief Herman Smith retired, failed to properly fill out state insurance paperwork.
Due to the mistake, the state of Louisiana lowered the town’s insurance protection rating from class 6 (indicating that the area has favorable fire response time) to 10 (which means homes and properties are not within 5 miles of a responding fire department), reported
The Natchez Democrat.
The lowered rating could possibly lead to increased premiums, as Ferriday insurance agent Ronnie Bradford of Ronnie Bradford Insurance revealed.
According to Bradford, the owner of a $100,000 home in Ferriday with a class 6 rating would normally pay about $1,200 a year for fire insurance. A class 10 rating would raise costs to approximately $1,500 a year.
“It’s a substantial rate increase,” Bradford said. “You are looking at a 25-percent increase between a class 6 and a class 10.”
Bradford also noted that those homeowners living outside Ferriday’s limits under the protection of the Concordia Parish Fire District continue to have class 6 rates.
Mayor-elect Sherrie Jacobs said that she was aware of the issue and has begun work towards correcting the costly error.
“We are already working on getting this corrected,” the newly-elected mayor said. She will be sworn in on July 1.
Jacobs said that she would submit the forms to the Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal as soon as they are finished. She also said that she intends to reappoint former Ferriday Fire Chief Joe Sontoyo after she has been sworn into office.
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