| Sarasota,
FL: City of Sarasota property owners will receive an additional
discount on flood insurance effective immediately as a result
of City staff working closely with the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) to help reduce those costs. Property owners
will now receive an additional five percent off their premiums.
“This is excellent news,” said Tim Litchet, Director
of Neighborhood and Development Services. “This means
we’re doing a great job administering the floodplain
regulations, and because of our efforts the citizens get a
discount off their flood insurance policies.” In total,
property owners in a Special Flood Hazard Area will now receive
a 20 percent reduction on flood insurance due to the City’s
participation in a FEMA program. The discount is set for the
next five years.
FEMA administers the National
Flood Insurance Program which offers reasonably priced
flood insurance in communities which comply with minimum standards
for floodplain management. Based on a point system, called
the Community
Rating System, a community which goes beyond the set minimum
standards can earn discounts on flood insurance premiums.
Discounts range from five percent to 45 percent. Every five
years, a community is eligible to have its rating reviewed
and possibly upgraded.
The Community Rating System grants points
in four different areas: public information, mapping and regulations,
flood damage reduction and flood preparedness. Depending upon
the number of points earned, a community is placed into one
of ten classes. Class 10 receives no discount and Class 1
receives the highest discount – 45 percent. Each class
is separated by increments of five percent.
The City of Sarasota moved from Class 7 to
Class 6, saving property owners an extra 5 percent over their
current flood insurance premium. “We can’t point
at one item as to why the City moved up,” said Buster
Chapin, Senior Zoning Analyst and staff point person with
the project. “We received points for a lot of things:
including floodplain information in utility bills, flood preparedness,
and elevation certificates for buildings. We also were awarded
points for publicizing that we have flood information available.”
The City earned enough additional points to move into Class
6 for a total reduction of 20 percent on premiums. The rate
changes will remain in effect for five years.
For more information contact Buster
Chapin, Senior Zoning Analyst: 941-365-2200 ext. 4444.
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