New Flood Insurance Discounts for Ocean City Owners

Ocean City will be among 17 New Jersey municipalities that will be recognized in an awards ceremony Wednesday (Dec. 18) for reducing their flood hazard risk.

For property owners in Ocean City, a new rating will mean an additional 5 percent discount on flood insurance premiums as the entire community moves from Class 7 to Class 6 in the Community Rating System (CRS). 

Wednesday’s ceremony at 12:30 p.m. at Sea Isle City Elementary School will honor Avalon, Cape May, Cape May Point, Longport, Margate, Ocean City, Sea Isle City and Upper Township.

The CRS is a program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that provides lower insurance premiums under the National Flood Insurance Program. 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.

Communities earn points toward their rating based on 18 creditable activities in four categories: Public Information, Mapping and Regulations, Flood Damage Reduction and Flood Preparedness. For towns participating in the CRS, flood insurance premium rates are discounted in 5 percent increments.

Premium reductions are in the form of CRS Classes, similar to the classifications used for fire insurance. A Class 1 community (the highest level of compliance) would receive a 45% premium reduction.

Ocean City moves from a Class 7 (15 percent discount) to a Class 6 (20 percent discount). A revised ordinance that requires new and substantially rebuilt homes in Ocean City to be built at higher elevations is one factor that helped Ocean City move into Class 6.

Ten New Jersey municipalities (Sea Isle City, Avalon, Beach Haven, Bedminster, Brigantine, Long Beach Township, Longport, Mantoloking, Pompton Lakes and Stafford Township) are in Class 5, the highest level currently in the state. The 61 communities in the program have saved a total of $17 million.

Participating communities have better organized and more formal local flood programs, which can be evaluated against a nationally recognized benchmark. The discounted premiums give communities incentive to maintain its programs. Residents are reminded that their towns are working to protect them from flooding and will become more knowledgeable and interested in supporting and improving flood protection measures.

Learn more about the NFIP’s CRS program at http://www.fema.gov/business/nfip/crs.shtm.

http://www.fema.gov/disaster/4086/updates/sandy-one-year-later

— News release from FEMA