STONE HARBOR – At a Stone Harbor Borough Council meeting July 19, former Mayor Suzanne Walters asked what the borough is doing to ensure that its current Community Rating System (CRS) level 5 rating is either maintained or improved.
The CRS rating level determines the percentage of flood insurance premium discount available to homeowners in the community. Stone Harbor’s current CRS level allows for a 25% discount on premiums.
What prompted Walters’ question is the fact that certain CRS points toward the town’s current rating level will expire in October. Following Superstorm Sandy, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded CRS points to communities that adopted Advisory Base Flood Elevation Maps (ABFE). Those points will no longer be available in the new rating process in 2022.
This potential loss of points coincides with FEMA’s new insurance premium setting process, which threatens to increase base premiums in many areas, making the CRS level and premium discount even more important.
Pre-Covid 2019 FEMA data shows Stone Harbor with close to $725 million in flood insurance coverage spread across 2,663 policies. Property owners pay approximately $2.4 million in annual premiums. The coverage dollars are likely higher in 2022.
Mayor Judith Davies-Dunhour said the public will get a report on the borough’s CRS activities and its efforts to maintain or improve its rating level at the Aug. 2 council meeting.
