Federal flood insurance rates could be reduced in Key West

Federal flood insurance rates could be reduced in Key West

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

Hoping to keep whittling away at the soaring cost of flood insurance, Key West City Commissioners have approved a flood information communications plan in conjunction with Monroe County.

The communication plan is the latest step in local efforts to strengthen compliance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flood program. Key West was readmitted to FEMA’s Community Rating System (CRS) in February 2016. The CRS program gives points to communities that actively work towards reducing flood risks for property owners. Those points are used to lower insurance premiums for all local property owners insured through the federal National Flood Insurance Program, a FEMA-offered property insurance plan.

The new communications plan, developed by the Monroe County Multi-Jurisdictional Program for Public Information (PPI) Committee, could lead to Key West receiving additional CRS points.

“The city’s current CRS Class 7 rating – with a 15% discount for most flood insurance policies – was obtained absent a PPI. City staff is preparing a CRS Application for Modification aimed at elevating its rating to a Class 6 or 5, which would increase the discount to 20 or 25% respectively,” said Scott Fraser, Key West FEMA coordinator and the city’s floodplain administrator. “Adopting this PPI is another part of achieving this goal.”

Fraser is a member of the county PPI committee and helped develop the communications plan. The other two committee members are Rebecca Horan with Atlantic-Pacific Insurance and Jay Hall with BB&T Bank.

The communications plan identifies target audiences, designs flood information products and messages and lists recommended annual outreach projects. It is intended for use by all Monroe County communities. Key West Commissioners unanimously approved the new plan without comment at their May 16 meeting.

Key West was readmitted to FEMA’s CRS program in 2016 after being kicked out of the flood program several years ago because of its “lackluster enforcement of floodplain requirements,” according to Fraser. To qualify for the CRS program, Key West completely revamped the building permit process used by its building department. Code enforcement and compliance was also changed to comply with the National Flood Insurance Program, and voters in November 2014 approved a referendum allowing buildings to be raised up to four feet above base flood levels.

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