Flood insurance costs dropping for Columbus residents
Columbus residents will have to pay less for flood insurance. The city planning department is reporting that the area has received an improved flood insurance rating, dropping premiums by an additional five percent.
The city has held a Class 8 rating in FEMA’s Community Rating System but that is being upgraded to a Class 7 rating. Estimates from FEMA are that the change would save about $40 per flood insurance policy. For the 374 policies currently in place in the city, there would be a total savings of over $46 thousand dollars.
The planning department is reporting that local efforts at reducing flood damage have led to the improved rating. Those include creation of the city’s flood plans, heightened development standards and preservation of open space. They also credited additional flood studies for areas in the Haw Creek watershed not included on the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps.