With the cost of Federal Emergency Management Agency flood insurance rising even with the recent passage of the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014, community leaders on Grays Harbor are considering joining a community ratings system that allows policyholders to get a discount.
Flood insurance is required for many home and business owners in the county, particularly in coastal areas and areas zoned in the floodplain in Hoquiam and Aberdeen.
Though the recent reform eased much of the sticker shock in the law passed in 2012, called the Biggert-Waters Act, insurance costs are still likely to go up.
As flood insurance rates are rising, more communities on the Harbor are considering doing what is necessary to join “Community Rating Systems” so property owners can avail themselves of a discount on their premiums that can range from five to 40 percent.
At a recent meeting for city officials, FEMA representatives stressed the community rating system where communities become fully compliant with minimum requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program.
The rating system was implemented in 1990 as a voluntary program for recognizing and encouraging community floodplain management actions that exceed minimum flood insurance standards.
Westport is the only community in the county that has joined. Westport’s building official Mark Davis said the program affords many of the city’s policyholders a discount.
The city joined the system on Oct. 1, 2009, and has a Class 6 rating. Policyholders in the special flood hazard area there receive a 20 percent discount on their flood insurance, said FEMA spokesman Ryan Ike Wednesday.
Non-floodplain residents in Westport receive a 10 percent discount, Ike said. The class rating system is similar to fire insurance ratings to determine reductions.
Four communities nationwide, including King and Pierce counties, have reached the highest levels of the ratings system by developing floodplain management programs tailored to their own particular hazards, character and goals, a FEMA fact sheet notes.
Both counties are listed as Class 2, the second-highest possible. The average premium discount is $650 in King and $666 in Pierce.
Three other counties in the state, Snohomish, Thurston and Skagit, have qualified for Class 4 rating, also among the best premium discounts. The state has one of the highest participation rates in the country.
Obtaining a community ratings system was previously deemed to be too expensive, Aberdeen’s Public Works Director Malcolm Bowie said. The Biggert-Waters Act of 2012, even with amendments passed in spring this year, means most flood insurance policyholders will eventually pay full rates.
“So we have to do what we can to get rates down,” Bowie, who is also the floodplain manager, said.
Aberdeen Public Works Engineer Lead Tech Mike Lentz said the city already has flood elevation certificates on file and meets several other of the criteria for qualification. Though the flood elevation certificates may need updating, he said, it’s a start.
Flood elevation certificates cost from $500 to $1,500 to obtain.
Because communities have to follow state requirements, many communities are halfway or more than halfway to qualifying for the designation, FEMA presenters said.
Requirements can include keeping track of flood elevation certificates on properties, outreach on flood management, such as annual storm drainage clearing reminders, creating floodplain open space, improved drainage, retrofitting buildings with flood protection, levee safety, building standards and drainage improvement, according to the FEMA presentation and Ike. The more comprehensive the mitigation, the better the classification.
The challenge can be documentation, said a one-man building department, Ocean Shores Building Official Michael McGivney. “I will also be looking into the efforts that Westport is currently doing in regard to being a (ratings) community,” he said.
Orlando Howell, the building official for Hoquiam, said joining the system has the support of both Mayor Jack Durney and the City Council, so action could be taken.
The next FEMA training for local officials is scheduled for Nov. 17-20 in Tacoma, said Ike. If that one fills up, more can be scheduled, said John Graves, senior flood specialist for FEMA. He also is happy to travel to Grays Harbor County to help, he added.
Other sessions are held throughout the year at the Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsbrug, Md. Ike said he knows of no FEMA grants that help communities, particularly smaller ones, document their floodplain management standards.
To gain further knowledge and guidance, Ike suggested officials consult Northwest Regional Floodplain Management Association at http://www.norfma.org/ and the Association of State Floodplain Managers at http://www.floods.org/.
He also encouraged the public get more information about the national flood insurance program and insurance by visiting www.floodsmart.gov or contact the NFIP helpline at 800-427-4661.
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