ISO’s Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS^®) Update Project

The Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS®) assesses building codes and amendments adopted in a particular community and evaluates that community’s commitment to enforce them.

The concept is simple: Municipalities with well-enforced, up-to-date codes should demonstrate better loss experience, and insurance rates can reflect that. The prospect of reducing damage and ultimately lowering insurance costs provides an incentive for communities to enforce their building codes rigorously.

ISO has been conducting BCEGS surveys across the country since 1995. We now have in our database information about more than 15,000 building-code enforcement departments serving more than 20,000 communities nationwide. Our extensive analysis of building-code adoption and enforcement, coupled with feedback we receive from building officials throughout the country, has prompted ISO to embark on a project to review, revise, and update the criteria in BCEGS.

ISO’s objective is to identify the sections of the current grading evaluation that may need revision and to modify where necessary. We will engage in discussions over the next few months with a variety of code groups, insurers, building officials, and community leaders to obtain feedback on the potential scope and feasibility of changes to BCEGS.

Read BCEGS — Explaining the Classifications to learn more about ISO’s BCEGS program, how ISO determines BCEGS classifications, and the key criteria we use to grade communities.

You can access the BCEGS Revision Comment Form here. ISO asks that you identify yourself in case we need to contact you or have questions about your suggestions. We will not use or distribute your contact information or the comments you provide for any other purpose. We’ve divided the form into sections that match the sections of the current schedule.

After the feedback period concludes, ISO will develop a list of potential modifications and additions and then beta test them to assure reliability and consistent application. Following the test process, we will confer with key stakeholders — including the International Code Council (ICC) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) — before finalizing the revised schedule.