Somers Point Mayor Jack Glasser announced that starting on May 1, 2018, Somers Point property owners who have federal flood insurance will start to receive a 20-percent discount on their insurance rates.
The discount is a result of the city’s acceptance into the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS). The CRS is a program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that provides lower insurance premiums under the NFIP. Communities can apply to participate in the CRS, and residents of participating communities pay lower premium reduction rates based on the implementation of floodplain management policies.
After more than a year of working with representatives from the FEMA Regional Office and the New Jersey Department if Environmental Protection (NJDEP), Somers Point has established compliancy and provided the necessary documentation to show that its policies are consistent with the standards of the National Flood Insurance Program. Last week, the city received notification that they have achieve a Class 6 certification in the Community Rating System (CRS) program.
“Now that the city has received preliminary approved by FEMA, property owners who have federal flood insurance will save 20 percent, or more than $161,000 annually city-wide. Because flood insurance rates are ever increasing, this savings will grow each year,” said Glasser.
A total of 956 property owners in Somers Point have federal flood insurance policies. These policies insure over $221 million in property and have paid out more than $806,000 in premiums in 2016 alone.
For CRS participating communities, flood insurance premium rates are discounted a minimum of 5% for a Class 9 community up to a maximum 45% premium discount for Class 1 communities, depending on their ability to meet the rating system’s criteria. A community accrues points to improve its CRS Class rating and receive increasingly higher discounts. Points are awarded for engaging in any of 19 creditable activities, organized under four categories: public information, mapping and regulations, flood damage reduction, warning and response.
CRS compliance was led by planning and engineering consultants, Rutala Associates and Mott Associates. “This was a team effort,” noted City Administrator Wes Swain. He thanked several city officials for their assistance in helping the City achieve a Class 6 rating, including Jim McBrien, City construction official; Greg Schneider, city engineer; Philip Gaffney, emergency management coordinator; and Jason Frost, assistant administrator.
The 20-percent premium reductions for property owners take effect upon renewal of their current flood insurance policies or change flood insurance providers after May 1, 2018.
The city of Somers Point is already working on ways to improve the city’s CRS rating and provide a higher discount for property owners in the future. The city received a grant to develop a Watershed Management Plan, which is a prerequisite for a Class 4 certification. The Stockton University Coastal Research Center has completed this Plan and it is under review by FEMA.
