West Pittston, Pa., Saves Residents Money on Flood Insurance Premiums

Release Date Release Number
R3-20-NR-020
Release Date:
July 28, 2020

PHILADELPHIA – Residents of West Pittston, Pa., now have even lower flood insurance premiums available as a result of the community’s initiatives to implement better floodplain management measures encouraged by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) created the voluntary Community Rating System (CRS) program to recognize local efforts to reduce flood risk and to reward communities, their residents and businesses by saving them money on flood insurance premiums. The Borough of West Pittston entered the Community Rating System as a Class 7 community effective May 1, 2020.

“West Pittston’s leadership, hard work, and accomplishments in floodplain management are to be celebrated because of the additional protection the borough’s actions provide to its citizens and properties,” FEMA Region 3 Deputy Division Director for Mitigation Nicole Lick said. “In addition to insurance cost savings, CRS communities take steps targeted to minimize overall flood risk and build community resilience. We would like to thank the borough for taking actions to protect lives and property from future flood risk.”

NFIP policies written in the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) of West Pittston may now receive a 15 percent premium discount resulting in an average annual savings of about $592 for each policy. In addition, policies written outside the FEMA-mapped floodplain may receive a 5 percent annual premium discount. Overall, a Class 7 rating results in a total savings of $34,437 annually for the citizens here.

Under the CRS, local officials are asked to meet three goals: (1) reduce flood losses, (2) facilitate accurate insurance rating and (3) promote the awareness of flood insurance. Communities which apply to participate in the CRS are required to provide information demonstrating their floodplain management program exceeds the minimum compliance requirements of the NFIP. The program includes 10 different class rating levels based on the number and type of activities initiated by participating communities. For each class advancement, NFIP policy holders may receive an additional 5 percent reduction in their flood insurance premiums up to a 45 percent reduction for a Class 1 community.

“In addition to insurance cost savings, CRS communities take pre-disaster mitigation steps to minimize overall flood risk and build community resilience,” said MaryAnn Tierney, FEMA Region 3 regional administrator. “We would like to thank the Borough of West Pittston for taking actions to protect lives and property from flood risk.”

To learn more about the Community Rating System, visit www.FEMA.gov/national-flood-insurance-program-community-rating-system. For information about flood insurance, property owners should contact their insurance agent, visit www.FEMA.gov/national-flood-insurance-program, or call the NFIP's toll-free information line at
1-800-427-4661.

If you have any questions, please contact FEMA Region 3 Office of External Affairs at (215) 931-5597 or at femar3newsdesk@fema.dhs.gov

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