Escambia County Earns a Class 8 Rating from the National Flood Insurance Program

August 30, 2002 -The unincorporated area of Escambia County has recently been awarded a Class 8 rating from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), Community Rating System (CRS).

Escambia County currently has approximately 8,900 flood insurance policies in force county-wide, with a cumulative total of $1,221,755,400 in flood protection coverage and $2,743,228 in premiums paid each year by flood insurance policyholders in our county.

Modeled after the fire rating system, the CRS, under the NFIP, gives communities credit for flood mitigation and education initiatives that are undertaken by the community, that in-turn translates into premium discounts for flood insurance policy holders. Bigger discounts are given to those policy holders living in the higher risk flood zone areas, but with each class improvement, the savings for flood insurance policy holders is approximately 5%, or about $140,000 community wide each year. That is money that policyholders get to keep in their pocket, and potentially can be spent here in Escambia with a positive impact on our local economy.

The Town of Century, City of Pensacola, and the Santa Rosa Island Authority manage their own jurisdictions for this program and savings may vary if you live in one of those areas. Call your insurance agent as to when and how this program impacts your flood insurance premiums.

For more information on the local Community Rating System Program, contact the Escambia County Division of Emergency Management at 850-595-3311.