Written by: TFVstaff • January 25, 2019• Cutler Bay In the Community

Town Works Toward Saving Residents 30% on Flood Insurance

Town of Cutler Bay staff has been diligently working toward earning a 30% discount for all flood insurance policy holders within the Town—which will come to fruition once the Town improves from a Community Rating System (CRS) Class 5 to a CRS Class 4.

The CRS is a voluntary program for communities participating in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The goals of the CRS are to reduce flood damages to insurable property, strengthen and support the insurance aspects of the NFIP, and encourage a comprehensive approach to floodplain management. The CRS provides incentives in the form of premium discounts to communities that go beyond the minimum federal floodplain management requirements and develop extra measures to protect private property from potential flooding.

Currently at a CRS Class 5, the Town’s efforts are saving policy holders 25% on the cost of flood insurance—a total of $1,393,382 per year that translates to an average savings of $194 per policy.

Once the Town’s CRS Class 4 application is approved by FEMA, the Town will be saving policy holders 30% on the cost of flood insurance—a total of $1,670,926.00 per year that translates to an average savings of $233 per policy.

“There are only four communities in the United States with a FEMA CRS Class 4 rating,” expressed Mayor Tim Meerbott. “Cutler Bay is working toward becoming the fifth community to achieve a CRS Class 4—which will not only provide great savings for our residents, but will set Cutler Bay as a trailblazing community in floodplain mitigation and management. We will be able to reach the CRS Class 4 as a result of the hard work our Town staff and Floodplain Mitigation Advisory Committee has put in, working countless hours with our professional consultants to develop the Watershed Master Plan.”

Town staff has made great strides toward becoming a CRS Class 4 and most recently adopted the Watershed Master Plan—an important step in the process to meet the CRS Class 4 requirements. The purpose of the Watershed Master Plan is to provide the Town with a tool it can use to regulate future development in a way that does not increase runoff or flooding from future conditions.

For additional information, please visit FEMA’s website at https://www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program-community-rating-system, visit the Town’s website atwww.cutlerbay-fl.gov or contact the Public Works Department at (305) 234-4262.

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