Charlestown residents eligible for discounted flood insurance as town joins FEMA rating system

May 22--PROVIDENCE -- Charlestown recently became the eighth Rhode Island community to join the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Community Rating System, which can earn residents discounts on their flood insurance premiums, according to the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency.

The CRS, part of the National Flood Insurance Program, is a voluntary program that recognizes a community's efforts that exceed minimum requirements for floodplain management. These efforts can include public outreach, having open space in floodplain areas, and keeping track of all building permits in floodplains to ensure that regulations designed to minimize flood risk are being enforced.

By participating in the CRS program, communities can earn a 5 percent to 45 percent discount for flood insurance premiums. Many Charlestown residents and businesses that are located in a high hazard flood area are now eligible to receive a 15 percent discount on their annual premiums.

Charlestown Council President Tom Gentz praised "the hard work of Joseph Warner Jr., Charlestown's building and zoning official," to get the town into the CRS program.

According to RIEMA, there are 794 flood insurance policies in Charlestown; Warner said about 600 of them will be eligible for the premium savings. Residents are expected to save a total of $173,850 per year.

Warner explained that "preferred risk policies" are not eligible because they already receive discounted rates, and certain "grandfathered" policy owners will not get the 15-percent discount, but will still be eligible to receive a 5 percent discount on their premiums.

According to RIEMA, the following Rhode Island communities are now participating in FEMA's CRS program: Bristol, Charlestown, East Providence, Middletown, Narragansett, North Kingstown, Pawtucket and Westerly.

For more information, contact RIEMA at (401) 946-9996. Charlestown residents with questions about their flood insurance may contact Warner at (401) 364-1215 or by email at [email protected].

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