Flood Insurance

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) makes federally backed flood insurance available to property owners in communities that adopt and enforce floodplain regulations. Because the City participates in the Community Rating System (CRS), an NFIP program, policies receive an automatic 25% reduction in insurance rates. Starting in 2022, the NFIP is using a new way to calculate insurances rates, Risk Rating 2.0, so quotes from insurance agents may look different than in years past. For more information on Risk Rating 2.0, visit: https://www.fema.gov/flood-insurance/risk-rating 

Flood insurance policies are sold through licensed insurance agents and require a 30- day waiting period for coverage to take effect. So don’t wait for a flood to be forecast to get flood insurance. More information about flood insurance can be found at www.floodsmart.gov.  Damage due to flooding is typically not covered by regular homeowner’s insurance.

During a storm, if a tree falls on a roof and causes a home to flood, most standard insurance policies will cover that claim. However, if a storm causes the water to rise around a home and those waters flow into and flood a home, then most standard insurance policies will not cover that claim.

In 2021, there were 192 flood insurance policies in force with over $49 million in property covered. The annual premiums total almost $230,000. Since 1978 when the City joined the NFIP, only 45 claims have been paid to policies within the City totaling less than $100,000.

The City has currently earned enough points to be a Class 5 Community and so flood insurance policyholders receive an automatic discount of 25% on their premiums. The CRS classes range from 9 to 1, with 9 being the lowest class with no premium discount. In Colorado, only 10 other communities are Class 5 or better.

Regulations include:

• Requiring floodplain permits for work with mapped floodplains
• Prohibiting storage of hazardous materials or dumping of any materials in mapped floodplains
• Requiring stormwater facilities for new development or redevelopment
• For more information on the City’s floodplain regulations, visit WEBPAGE LINK[MW1] 

Activities include:

• Emergency Warning System, the 15 sirens used to broadcast alerts. For information on flood notifications and warnings, visit: WEBPAGE LINK[MW2] 
• Emergency Drills conducted with Jefferson County involving multiple City departments.
• Preserving floodplains as open space. For more information on the benefits of preserving mapped floodplains as natural open space, visit: WEBPAGE LINK[MW3] 
• Acquiring flood prone properties. For more information on the mitigation projects, visit: WEBPAGE LINK[MW4] 
• Record keeping – floodplain maps and elevation certificates.
• Outreach – public information distribution on floodplain topics. For more information on the outreach projects, visit: WEBPAGE LINK[MW5] 
• Maintaining stormwater facilities including streams, pipes, inlets, and ditches.
• Participating in the Jefferson County Multi-Hazard Plan (MHP) – updated in 2021. For more information on the MHP, visit: WEBPAGE LINK[MW6]