Residents in flood zones can soon save thousands of dollars every year when it comes to paying for flood insurance in Leon County. There’s a new discount for policy renewals.
Leon County is working to reduce the $900,000 citizens pay for flood insurance each year. It’s joining the voluntary Community Rating System, or CRS, which is offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, better known as FEMA. The program rates counties on a scale of one through ten, with one equaling the most discounts. The Director of Environmental Services, John Kraynak, said Leon came in at a six which means the county can discount the average citizen’s flood insurance premiums by 20 percent.
“We were only one of two or three communities that have ever come in that low, you know, at the first try, so that was kind of a big plus I think,” Kraynak said.
The savings come to an average of $150 per homeowner paying for flood insurance in the county.