FEMA downgrade costs Fort Myers Beach 25% flood insurance discount

Property owners in unincorporated Lee County and four local cities will get to keep a 25% flood insurance discount after the Federal Emergency Management Agency agreed to allow them to maintain their current ratings classification.

Fort Myers Beach, however, was downgraded, meaning residents will lose access to the discount.

The federal agency issued the decisions after the county and the four localities — Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Estero and Fort Myers Beach — spent months working to maintain the rating in the federal National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System after learning earlier this year that they had failed to meet the requirements.

In a statement, Lee says holding onto the rating and the discount that comes with it follows “months of diligent work by the county to provide all requested and required documentation.”

“For more than 40 years, Lee County has enjoyed an exemplary working relationship with FEMA,” it says in the statement.

“Since joining the Community Rating System program in 1991, the county has spent millions of dollars on studies, consultants and projects to mitigate the risks of flood damage and obtain a favorable rating for residents and taxpayers.”

A FEMA spokesperson, in an email, says it was unable to comment about the decisions by Thursday’s deadline.

For Fort Myers Beach, the news wasn’t as good.

The town, in its own statement, says it was notified that it was put on probation and its “rating would be retrograded, which would remove discounts on NFIP premiums.”

“I am disappointed that FEMA has made the decision to put the town on probation,” Andrew Hyatt, the barrier island’s manager, says in the statement posted to its website.

“Town staff is committed to following our FEMA approved plan and will continue to collaborate with FEMA and FDEM to regain our NFIP discount and CRS classification.”

The other localities’ current rating is a Class 5 in the National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System. It was at risk of being downgraded to Class 10 which has no discount.

(It was not immediately clear late Thursday how far Fort Myers Beach’s rating had fallen.)

The problems began March 28 when FEMA officials notified Lee and the cities of a ratings downgrade that would raise resident’s flood insurance premiums by 25%.

According to FEMA, the rating downgrade was the result of large amounts of unpermitted work, lack of documentation and a failure to properly monitor activity in special flood hazard areas, including substantial damage compliance.

Officials in the localities — despite letters from FEMA showing the contrary — say they were never told of the findings and questioned FEMA’s motives.

Following the decision, the county and cities worked to get FEMA the documentation it requested and to the submit the required documentation.

“The county worked in concert with FEMA to submit a corrective action plan prior to the Nov. 18 deadline,” Lee says in Thursday's statement. “FEMA found that the plan exceeded expectations and resulted in the retention of the discount.”

The NFIP was created in 1968 to provide insurance to help “reduce the socio-economic impact of floods,” FEMA says on its website. The program sells the insurance policies to property owners, renters and businesses through a public-private partnership between the government and insurance companies.

The agency says policies are sold and serviced by more than 50 insurance companies and NFIP Direct.