Floodplain Management: Sound Techniques to Improve Your Recovery

PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER

DISASTER RECOVERY TODAY

CRS Ratings and You

Based on your community’s CRS ratings, you can qualify for up to a 45% discount of your annual flood insurance premium. Here’s how.

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) requires communities to maintain a minimum level of floodplain management ordinances for its residents to be eligible to purchase flood insurance.

To encourage communities to exceed these minimum requirements, the NFIP established the Community Rating System (CRS). In exchange for increasing flood preparedness and achieving a CRS rating, the community’s residents are offered discounted flood insurance premium rates.

Communities are rated by class, of which there are 10:

Class 1 requires the most credit points and awards the highest premium reduction. Class 10 receives no premium reduction and refers to any community in full compliance with the rules and regulations of the NFIP but has not received a lower CRS rating.

The CRS identifies 18 creditable activities, organized under four categories. Each activity is assigned evaluation measures and a corresponding score. A community is rated on the total number of points generated during a particular evaluation.

Eligible floodplain management activities include:

• • Public Information Activities— from elevation certificates, flood zone information and outreach projects to hazard disclosure, flood protection information and flood protection assistance.
• • Mapping & Regulatory Activities— from detailed flood data and open space preservation to flood data maintenance and stormwater management.
• • Flood Damage Reduction Activities— from floodplain management and acquisition/ relocation plans to flood protection and drainage systems maintenance.
• • Flood Preparedness Activities— from flood warning programs to levee safety to dam safety.

View a chart that details the different scores and premium reduction percentages for each classification at www.nfip.com .

Today, more than 1,000 communities participate in CRS and receive discounts on the cost of their flood insurance premiums. Yours may be one. Check the NFIP web site to determine if you may already be eligible for a discount.

Jeff Shaw Adjusters International

9 www.floodsmart.gov.

CORPORATE OFFICE

126 Business Park Drive Utica, New York 13502 1-800-382-2468 Outside U.S. (315) 797-3035 FAX: (315) 272-2054 editor@disasterrecoverytoday.com

PUBLISHER

Ronald A. Cuccaro, SPPA

EDITOR

Sheila E. Salvatore

WEB ADDRESSES

www.adjustersinternational.com www.disasterrecoverytoday.com

DISASTER RECOVERY TODAY is published as a public service by Adjusters International, Inc. It is provided for general information and is not intended to replace professional insurance, legal and/or financial advice for specific cases.

DRT08-14009

Copyright © 2008 Adjusters International, Inc. Adjusters International ® and the AI logo are registered trademarks of Adjusters International, Inc. All rights reserved.