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OpinionSeptember 22, 1997

Although the process has just begun, the result of a nationwide rating of city building codes and building inspection procedures could mean lower homeowner insurance rates for newly built homes in Cape Girardeau. There aren't any guarantees the rates will drop, but chances are favorable they will after the insurance industry applies the ratings for the purpose of establishing premium costs to individual cities nationwide...

Although the process has just begun, the result of a nationwide rating of city building codes and building inspection procedures could mean lower homeowner insurance rates for newly built homes in Cape Girardeau.

There aren't any guarantees the rates will drop, but chances are favorable they will after the insurance industry applies the ratings for the purpose of establishing premium costs to individual cities nationwide.

The Insurance Services Offices, an organization that serves 1,500 insurance companies across the nation, is rating the cities following the catastrophic losses Hurricane Andrew inflicted on Florida. The ISO -- the same agency that rates cities' fire-protection capabilities for insurance premium purposes -- says $4 billion of the $16 billion in insured losses from the hurricane resulted from construction that failed to meet building codes.

The ISO bases the ratings largely on the code each city uses, how effectively it administers the codes, how well-trained its inspectors are, its licensing of contractors, how well it reviews building plans, its staffing levels and the quality of building inspections.

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Cape Girardeau was rated 5 on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best and 10 being the worst because of the absence of any building codes. The ISO says 5 is a good rating, which means Cape Girardeau adheres to a nationally recognized building code. But it also means there is room for improvement. When the undertaking is finished, it should give cities an indication of what needs to be done to move up the rating scale.

The inspection services director for Cape Girardeau, Rick Murray, says he intends to use the report to improve the city's inspection process and to ask the ISO to re-evaluate his department more often than the required five years. Murray, who commented on the rating without having the privilege of seeing the report, sees it as a means of bettering the inspection-code process in Cape Girardeau, and that is a commendable attitude.

Government building codes and their enforcement have never drawn raves from construction contractors in any city, including Cape Girardeau. The codes can be burdensome and costly, and the inspection procedures can hold up construction progress. Usually contractors complaints are prompted by the latter, not because building codes are in place.

But as Hurricane Andrew and other catastrophes have shown, building codes serve a purpose: Not only does proper construction save homes, it can save lives as well.

For those reasons, the new rating system is a good idea.

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