How can Fort Myers get a larger flood insurance discount?

When five municipalities in Lee County almost lost their FEMA flood insurance discount back in March, only one was left off the list: Fort Myers.

“Everything that FEMA has been asking for, we’ve been there, right on top of it to provide everything they need,” said Brent Brewster, the City of Fort Myers building official.

But among all the Lee County municipalities, Fort Myers has the smallest discount, coming in at 5% and rated a class 9.

Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel are rated class 5, receiving a 25% discount. Estero is rated a class 6 and receives a 20% discount.

“It’s all about documentation,” said Brewster, who oversees all development and permitting inspections in Fort Myers.

FEMA audits local governments every four years, and based on their findings they come up with a Community Rating System (CRS) score, which indicates how much of a flood insurance discount they’ll get.

“The City of Fort Myers has always been a class 8, which gave us a 10% discount. In 2018, we lost our discount completely, but then in 2019, they got us back into the program to a class 9,” said Brewster.

The rating takes into account several factors, like keeping waterways clean and public outreach.

“It’s our warning systems, it’s our flood regulations, it’s our buildings, construction, making sure we are constructing buildings and property to resist those floods,” said Brewster.

Something Brewster says the city has been hard at work on, and he’s hopeful it’ll may pay off.

“We just met with FEMA representatives last week, and things are looking very good for us. We are hoping to jump to a class 7, possibly a class 6, where we can give our citizens a 15 to 20% discount,” said Brewster.

In the meantime, if you’re sitting at home and want your community to have a larger discount,
Bernwood said construction is a major way you can help.

If you’re doing any remodeling and are located in a flood zone, be aware of what can be done to prevent flood damage and always get the proper permitting. Proper documentation is key.

To see what FEMA scores and discounts other communities across the state and nation have, click here.

For more information on Lee County’s Community Rating System, click here.

For more information on Lee County’s Floodplain Management Program, click here.