This month, the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) notified City Manager Charlie Duggan that the City’s flood management activities have qualified the community for an improved flood insurance rating, resulting in a 15 percent reduction on most flood insurance policies under the National Flood Insurance Program.
“This savings is a tangible result of the flood mitigation activities your community implements to protect lives and reduce property damage,” wrote William H. Lesser, who is the Community Rating System coordinator for the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration.
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is the primary source of flood insurance coverage for residential properties in the United States, with more than 5 million policies in over 22,000 communities in 56 states and jurisdictions.
The City participates in the National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System, a voluntary incentive program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. An annual report and an intensive five-year audit detail the City’s efforts including:
- Preservation of open space;
- Furnishing flood zone and flood-related information to the public;
- Maintaining elevation certificates for new and substantially improved buildings;
- Enforcing building codes and state-mandated regulatory standards for developments in flood hazard areas; and
- Maintaining and using digitized maps in floodplain management.
Through the Community Rating System program, FEMA recognizes and rewards improvements in flood mitigation activities in the following categories: public information, mapping and regulations, flood damage reduction, and warning and response.
Extending beyond minimum National Flood Insurance Program requirements benefits the City by allowing credits for those efforts to be earned and then applied to discounts on flood insurance premiums for residents and businesses.
The Community Rating System classifies communities from 1 through 10, with Class 1 receiving the greatest discounts. The City of Redlands’ rating was changed from Class 8 to Class 7, bringing the total discount to 15 percent.
View the NFIP/CRS Verification Report here.
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