FEMA flood insurance discounts are here to stay

The flood insurance discount is back, but the work to keep it is just starting.

“I was very happy for everybody who has gotten a discount. I know, they were counting on it. I know, it means a lot,” said David Silverberg, a Retired Editor at Homeland Security Today who covered FEMA throughout his career.

• READ MORE: FEMA confirms Lee County and its municipalities can have their flood insurance discount

“Of course, it’s good news. But why did we have to go through it? I guess that’s been my question from the start,” said John Miehle, a Cape Coral resident.

The threat of losing this discount is still fresh in everyone’s minds.

Even with this good news, Silverberg says that fear of higher rates was to push us to be better.

“FEMA is trying to create a situation where after every hurricane, they don’t have to pay for rebuilding all the same structures, they want communities to harden, they want them to become more resilient. And the way they do this, is by imposing these codes, or standards,” said Silverberg.

Estero is keeping their 20 percent.

Cape Coral, Bonita springs, Fort Myers Beach and unincorporated Lee county will keep their 25% for now.

But come November 18, if each area’s violations are not fixed they can be placed on probation and in turn, you’d lose your discount on April 1, 2025.

The question now is how do we keep this discount?

“How do you keep this discount? You meet the standards, you exceed them, you build resiliently you harden your community for the next storm and Lord knows we may be having quite a few this year,” said Silverberg. “And you create a situation where you’re resilient against climate change, its effects, the storms, the weather, and every other hazard that threatens your community.”

Not only do we keep our discount, it can even increase. Take Pinellas county for example: their flood insurance discount is 40%.

WINK News asked Silverberg if he thought we could see that in southwest Florida. He says if we exceed FEMA’s expectations it’s possible we could be eligible for an increased discount.