Tega Cay residents may see a reduction in their property insurance rates thanks to a new lower fire insurance rating for the Tega Cay Volunteer Fire Department.

Fire Chief Scott "Spanky" Szymanski and the Tega Cay Fire Department said most of the city will see its Insurance Service Organization, or ISO, rating go down from a 6 to a 4.

The fire department was last inspected by the ISO 24 years ago, when it was issued a "6" rating. The lower the rating on the 10-point scale, the better property insurance rates are in general for home and business owners.

"We have been told that most of the city will be a 4 rating after this recent inspection," Szymanski said.

"There are three streets in the city that do not have adequate water mains to support fire hydrants. About 100 houses are affected in the fire service area, so we are trying to work with the city and the water company to add fire hydrants."

He added, "We were close to a rating of 3, but we lacked a ladder truck and pagers. The pagers alone were a $9,000 investment.

"We have a good station, a strong department, a better water supply and good communications. We are a good team of volunteers."

According to Karen Hamilton of Watson Insurance and Diane Woods of Professional Insurance Consultants, insurance rates could change dependent on the ISO rating, distance from a fire hydrant, insurance claims, credit reports and other factors used to rate individual policies.

"We are not expecting any changes until August," Hamilton said.

Woods agreed that insurance agents do not have the information from ISO yet to determine any adjustments in rates.

"We will be watching for the rates for our Tega Cay customers," she said.