THE BOSTON CITY COUNCIL unanimously supported a resolution on Wednesday urging the city to join a Federal Emergency Management Agency program that provides flood insurance discounts to residents and businesses.
Councilor Ed Flynn, who represents a section of the city that includes the vulnerable Seaport district along with other coastal parts of South Boston, introduced the nonbinding resolution to push for financial relief for homeowners, renters, and businesses with flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program.
CommonWealth Beacon reported last week that Boston missed a 2021 self-imposed deadline to join FEMA’s Community Rating System program, which rewards flood insurance policyholders with discounts on their premiums in communities that are taking proactive steps to minimize flood risk above and beyond minimum national standards.
The result since the city missed that goal four years ago: The 5,770 Boston residents and businesses insured through the NFIP have paid at least $785,000 in total unnecessary flood insurance costs, according to state data analyzed by CommonWealth Beacon.
It’s a substantial financial blow amid high costs of living statewide exacerbated by the increasing precipitation and sea level rise caused by climate change. As more catastrophic storms occur, more Massachusetts residents are purchasing flood insurance.
Chris Osgood, director of Boston’s office of climate resilience, previously told CommonWealth Beacon that the city has not yet joined the program because of the administrative burdens associated with applying, a perceived barrier shared by several other municipalities and floodplain management experts. Joining the Community Rating System requires robust documentation of construction certificates of buildings in the floodplain and developing a plan to address “repetitive loss” properties.
Flynn said in a statement that he heard “serious concerns” from his constituents about the city’s failure to apply to FEMA’s Community Rating System program and how that “inaction has left residents prone to higher flood insurance premiums.”
“It was critical that City Council spoke in one voice today – to say that Boston needs to make this a top priority, and potentially save millions of dollars for policyholders,” he said. “A difficult application process is no excuse for us to delay certification any longer, especially with rising costs for those living in the flood map.”
Boston isn’t alone. Just 22 municipalities in Massachusetts are enrolled in CRS and receiving flood insurance discounts. Nationwide, only 1,700 communities have joined the program out of 22,600 municipalities that could participate. Coastal cities in New England like Portland, Maine, and New Haven, Connecticut, are participating in CRS.
Boston plans to apply to join CRS next year, Osgood said.