At its City Council meeting, Richmond Hill officials announced that residents and business owners have received a reduction in their flood insurance premiums by as much as 15 percent through the City’s voluntary participation in the Federal Emergency Management Agency Community Rating System. This reduction is due to a focused effort by City of Richmond Hill staff to proactively reduce flood risk beyond FEMA’s minimum requirements.  

Under the FEMA Community Rating System, the City demonstrated and documented efforts to meet three main goals: reduce flood losses, facilitate accurate insurance ratings, and promote the awareness of flood insurance. As a result, eligible policyholders will qualify for an average savings of more than $120 annually, with city-wide savings of nearly $200,000 annually. There are more than 2,000 flood insurance policies in the city of Richmond Hill, representing approximately $550 million in flood insurance coverage.
 
“Richmond Hill is one of only 29 communities in the state of Georgia that has achieved a Class 7 or better designation from FEMA,” said Mayor Harold Fowler. “This means policyholders located in the high-risk areas of flooding are eligible for a 15 percent discount and lower risk areas are eligible for a 5 percent discount. We are proud of the ‘above and beyond’ steps taken by the City to protect our citizens and provide cost savings to residents and business owners.”

FEMA expects the discounts, which will be identified as a line item labeled “CRS discount” on the annual insurance bills, to take effect as flood insurance policies are renewed after May 1, 2016. Policyholders don’t need to do anything to receive the discount.

The City of Richmond Hill will continue to work on efforts that could help improve the discount rate even more in the future. Additional details about flood insurance, flood risks, or the City’s floodplain management program can be found at www.richmondhill-ga.gov under Flood Protection.