City of Arlington Earns Improved Class 5 CRS Rating; Residents to Receive Larger Discounts on Flood Insurance
By Susan Schrock, Office of Communication
Posted on October 01, 2021, October 01, 2021

Flood Insurance

The City of Arlington has earned an improved Community Rating System (CRS) rating from the National Flood Insurance Program. The new Class 5 rating will provide Arlington property owners and renters up to a 25 percent discount on flood insurance premiums beginning Friday, Oct. 1, 2021.

The City of Arlington participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which offers flood insurance to all homeowners, renters, and business owners who live within a community that adopts and enforces ordinances that meet or exceed FEMA standards to reduce the risk of flooding.

The NFIP Community Rating System (CRS) Program recognizes and encourages community floodplain management activities that exceed the minimum FEMA standards. Under the CRS Program, flood insurance premium rates are discounted to reward community actions that reduce flood damage; strengthen and support the insurance aspects of the NFIP; and encourage a comprehensive approach to floodplain management.

The CRS Program uses a Class rating system to determine flood insurance premium reductions for all policy holders. Flood insurance premium rates in Community Rating System communities are discounted in increments of 5 percent, ranging from a Class 1 to a Class 10. The City previously held a Class 6 rating, which provided residents a 20% discount on flood insurance.

To achieve the new Class 5 rating, the City of Arlington was credited for its stormwater education and outreach program, capital improvement project planning and implementation, buyout of flood prone properties, preserving open space in the floodplain, maintaining historic floodplain records and having higher building standards that reduce the risk of frequent flooding.

The City of Arlington’s floodplain management efforts include:

Watershed Study Program: Prior to the implementation of the City’s Watershed Study Program, only limited or out-of-date floodplain data was available for the community. In 2011, the City began to study every watershed within the community (excluding Walnut Creek due to the limited footprint). These watershed studies identified and addressed existing flooding problems and provide mitigation alternatives and design concepts to alleviate flooding. Watershed studies also provide the City with the necessary updated floodplain information to coordinate future development to minimize existing and potential flood damages.

City Voluntary Flood Mitigation Buyout Program: This program acquires flood-prone structures based on eligibility requirements. Acquisition of flood-prone structures reduce flood hazards that could impact public safety and reclaims floodplain to preserve open space in the floodplain. Since the September 2018 floods, the City has mitigated 11 flood-prone structures. Four of the 11 mitigated structures were NFIP-designated repetitive-loss structures.

Floodplain Program for Public Information Committee (FPPIC): The FPPIC consists of Arlington citizens and City staff to provide recommendations on developing outreach to better inform and prepare the City of Arlington on various floodplain related topics. Recommendations from the FPPIC were used to develop the Program for Public Information (PPI) Plan. The development of the PPI Plan was paramount in achieving the Class 5 rating.

Outreach Efforts: The City notifies residents by various outreach efforts which include mailouts, brochures, social media posts, and the Stormwater webpage. Notification topics include but are not limited to changes to the regulatory floodplain, flood insurance information, identification of flood hazard areas to minimize impact to public safety, flood awareness, repetitive loss areas. In FY21, a total of 11 mailouts were sent to the residents of Arlington.

Risk Rating 2.0

FEMA is also rolling out a new rating methodology, called Risk Rating 2.0, that will affect all new flood insurance policies in the City of Arlington and may affect renewals of existing policies. Existing policy holders that will renew their policies between Oct. 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022, should contact their flood insurance agent for a rating comparison to ensure they receive the best premium.

Why Buy Flood Insurance?

Standard homeowner’s insurance policies do not cover damage from floods; therefore, flood insurance is recommended to protect your property. To find out about your flood risk and how to protect your property from flooding, contact the City of Arlington Public Works and Transportation Department at 817-459-6550. Click here to use the NFIP’s Cost of Flooding calculator.

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