San Antonio could see cheaper flood insurance rates in FEMA rating system

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — You may be in luck if you are hoping to get cheaper flood insurance in San Antonio.

In a release, the city says it is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to get San Antonio recognized as eligible for the voluntary Community Rating System (CRS), which can lead to savings on flood insurance premiums for residents and businesses.

“No home is completely safe from flooding, so I always recommend every household obtain flood insurance,” said Robert Reyna, Interim Assistant Director of Public Works’ Storm Water Division. “This is a great opportunity for residents to insure their properties at a reduced rate. We are so pleased to qualify for such a deep discount for our residents and businesses in our first year of the program and we will be working as a community to pursue even deeper discounts in the future.”

Under CRS, flood insurance premium rates are discounted to reward community actions that meet the goals of 1) Reducing flood damage, 2) Strengthen the insurance aspects of the National Flood Insurance Program, and 3) Encourage comprehensive floodplain management.

Discounts on Flood insurance will be effective on new and renewed policies after October 1st of this year, which is the same day FEMA will update the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) risk ratings.

In the coming months, San Antonio residents can expect to see changes to the local Flood Insurance Rate Maps which are utilized by FEMA to develop the rates under Risk Rating 2.0. The remapping effort is managed by the San Antonio River Authority, which send the maps to FEMA once completed.

You can read the entire City of San Antonio release by clicking here.