City Knocks 5 Percent Off Residents' Flood Insurance Premiums

Move over GEICO. Dunedin’s Planning and Development Department just saved you an additional 5 percent on flood insurance.

The City of Dunedin’s moved up a notch on the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System (CRS).

The City of Dunedin moved up to a "Class 6" from a “Class 7,” which automatically triggers a 20 percent discount on homeowners' flood insurance policies (designated as a "CRS" or "CRS discount" on most policies). Homeowners should expect to see this adjusted as they renew their policies beginning Oct. 1.

(The scale ranges from a “Class 1” to a “Class 10,” with “1” offering the highest insurance discounts and “10” offering nothing. A "Class 7" rating offers a 15 percent discount.)

“Seven is about normal,” said Greg Rice, director of planning and development for the city of Dunedin, just before a meeting Tuesday with about 30 residents of Baywood Shores subdivision. “Six is good. There are only a couple of fives that I’m aware of in the state.”

Baywood Shores is a rambling coastal neighborhood that runs along Bayshore Boulevard starting at the Dunedin Causeway. It’s home to a majority of Dunedin’s 80 most flood-prone properties. He was delivering the good news about their flood insurance premiums.

Dunedin residents spend about $3.46 million combined on their flood insurance premiums each year. The new 5-percent reduction should save 4,489 Dunedin homeowners a combined $184,000, roughly, Rice said. Over the next five years, it adds up to about $919,600.

Dunedin’s program will be rated again in five years.

To get the city the higher rating, Rice said it was awarded points for completing certain activities related to public information, mapping and regulations, reducing flood drainage and flood preparedness.

He lauded the creative and cost-effective efforts of Coordinator Joan McHale and GIS Specialist Wayne Clark during a May 5 City Commission meeting, for leveraging cost-efficient advertising in the city-wide Dunedin Beacon news mailout to complete the public information community outreach project and for finishing other mapping and floodplain management requirements, which added points to the city's final score.