The state of New York has 1,500 communities that participate in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), but only 32 (2%) currently participate in the Community Rating System (CRS) and none rank better than Class 7. Supervisor Bill Reilich is pleased to announce that the Town of Greece is the only local municipality in Monroe County that participates in the National Flood Insurance Community Rating System Program and has received a reduction in our Class rating from 8 to 7 providing additional savings for taxpayers.
CRS is a voluntary incentive program managed by the Insurance industry and recognized by FEMA that highlights communities that enforce floodplain management activities that exceed the minimum National Flood Insurance Program requirements. Our participation as a Class 7 CRS Community will provide Greece residents within the FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area with a fifteen percent discount on their flood insurance policies. Benefits also include improved public safety, property loss reduction, open space and natural resource protection, and better post-disaster recovery.
“Since first taking office, saving taxpayer dollars has been my top priority. Today, I am pleased to announce that through the efforts of our Public Works and Development Services Departments our Town has received full approval from the NFIP for a class reduction from 8 to 7 resulting in the savings of fifteen percent for all Greece residents who currently have flood insurance. We are the only municipality within Monroe County to receive this class reduction and the first town across the state to have a Class 7 rating. This news comes at a time when the cost of flood insurance has increased dramatically across the nation and has become a burden for many communities that are situated in a flood plain.” said Supervisor Reilich.
The Town of Greece’s level of participation currently provides policy holders within the FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area (FEMA Mapped 100-year Floodplain) with a ten percent discount. While ten percent is the standard, our new fifteen percent reductions will provide cost savings for residents with flood insurance policies. This reduction may become more significant as flood insurance rates continue to increase due to recent laws aimed at making the program self-funding and the elimination of subsidies.