USA: The city of Houston celebrates a safer community and lower flood insurance rates
FEMA press release R6-10-016
Denton, Texas - Residents and business owners in the city of Houston can now enjoy a 10 to 25 percent reduction in flood insurance premiums because of Houston’s active participation in the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS). In addition to lower premiums, the CRS program has helped reduce the threat of damage due to flooding.
“The flood insurance program rewards communities for implementing programs and policies that protect their residents from flooding,” said Tony Russell, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regional administrator. “Houston’s higher regulatory standards, public education outreach, buy out programs and open space preservation initiatives, among other activities, have earned the city lower premiums as a CRS Class 5 Community.”
Representatives from FEMA will present the mayor and city council with a commemorative plaque at Tuesday’s city council meeting.
Houston’s flood insurance policyholders who reside in special flood hazard areas will receive a 25 percent reduction on flood insurance premiums. Policyholders located outside special flood hazard areas will enjoy a 10 percent discount. The reduction in flood insurance premiums represents an overall savings of $9,448,429 annually in premium costs for city of Houston policy holders and takes effect at the time a new policy is written or an effective policy is renewed.
Since joining the CRS as a Class 8 Community 1993, the city’s participation in the CRS has been beneficial in many respects. In addition to the reduction in insurance premiums, Houston’s city officials are more knowledgeable about floodplain management and its residents are more knowledgeable about mitigation and flood insurance. The program helped make the city of Houston a safer place to live, reduced the economic impact of flood hazards and saved their citizens money on their flood policy premiums.
The community rating system (CRS) is a voluntary program for NFIP- participating communities. The intended goals of the CRS are to reduce flood losses; facilitate accurate insurance ratings; and to promote the awareness of flood insurance. For more information on the NFIP’s CRS program, go to www.fema.gov/business/nfip/crs.shtm.
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazard.