National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System
Published on October 01, 2023
The Community Rating System (CRS) is a voluntary federal program that was implemented in 1990. It provides for reductions of flood insurance premiums up to a maximum of 45 percent for policy holders in flood zones and located within CRS communities.
The CRS uses a Class rating system (similar to fire insurance rating) to determine flood insurance premium reductions for residents. CRS classes are rated from 10 to 1. Most communities enter the program at a CRS Class 9 or Class 8 rating.
The community then takes advantage of 19 creditable activities to improve their rating. As a community engages in these additional mitigation activities, its residents become eligible for increased policy premium discounts. Each CRS Class improvement produces a 5% greater discount on flood insurance premiums for properties in the floodplain.
A breakdown of the discounts is noted in the following table.
| CRS Class |
CRS Discount |
| 1 |
45% |
| 2 |
40% |
| 3 |
35% |
| 4 |
30% |
| 5 |
25% |
| 6 |
20% |
| 7 |
15% |
| 8 |
10% |
| 9 |
5% |
| 10 |
0% |
The City of Dunedin has participated in the CRS Program since 1992 and is currently rated as a CRS Class 5 community. Recertification in the CRS Program involves an annual review along with a rigorous federal verification cycle every three years.
What does having a CRS Class 5 Rating mean to policy holders in Dunedin?
This superb rating puts Dunedin in the top 11.6% and only 25 of 1,504 communities nationally hold a higher rating and in Florida, only 5 communities hold a higher rating. More importantly, this entitles Dunedin policy holders to a hefty 25% premium discount. Specifically, there are 3,399 flood insurance policies in effect in Dunedin. The average policy premium for property in flood areas is reduced by $325 annually where risk and premiums are higher and $54 annually in areas of lower risk for a total savings to policy holders in Dunedin of approximately $900,000 each year!
And we are not stopping here! The City continues to look for opportunities to rise to the next CRS level with the guidance of the City’s Floodplain Administrator, Joseph DiPasqua. Stay tuned for continued improvements and for more CRS and flood information, please visit helpful these local, state and federal online resources.
City of Dunedin
https://www.dunedingov.com/city-departments/community-development/flood-awareness
Pinellas County
https://pinellas.gov/flood-information/
State of Florida
https://www.floridadisaster.org/hazards/floods/
FEMA / NFIP
https://www.floodsmart.gov/ https://www.fema.gov/floodplain-management/community-rating-system
https://www.crsviz.com/