Palmetto Bay is proud to announce that through its ongoing resiliency efforts, the Village has earned its residents a 25% discount on flood insurance premiums. By implementing projects and policies that mitigate flooding, Palmetto Bay has made a positive impact on its Community Rating System (CRS) ranking, giving Palmetto Bay homeowners a break on insurance costs.

Communities that participate in the CRS program, which is part of the National Flood Insurance Program, are given a classification by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, which is the basis for discount reductions on flood insurance premiums for homeowners. The lower the classification, the higher the discount percentage. In 2023, the Village achieved a Class 7 ranking that gave residents a 15% discount. This year, our ranking dropped to Class 5.

“Reducing our CRS ranking from a Class 7 to a Class 5 is an accomplishment we can all be proud of,” said Mayor Karyn Cunningham. “As Mayor, I’ve made this one of our top priorities. We’re protecting our residential investments while also putting money in residents' pockets through discounted premiums.”

Vice Mayor Leanne Tellam, who serves as Council liaison to Palmetto Bay’s Resiliency Committee, is also grateful for the hard work that resulted in increased savings for residents. “Home insurance has reached a crisis point in our community, and I’m really glad the Village is doing what it can to impact and improve the situation,” she said. “While flood insurance premiums may not make up the major chunk of costs for Palmetto Bay homeowners, this decrease was hard-earned by our staff and was a valuable investment of our resources. We’ll continue to do what we can to improve our residents’ ability to enjoy their homes.”

The Village accomplishments that led to the reduced ranking include the creation of a Floodplain Management Plan to identify and assess flooding hazards; the creation of a Natural Floodplain Functions Plan to identify and protect threatened species and sensitive habitats; performing a Repetitive Loss Area Analysis, which identifies strategies to protect or mitigate flood damage to repetitively flooded buildings; creating a Substantial Damage Plan to proactively identify buildings within our Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHS) that may be susceptible to significant damage; and the adoption of higher regulatory standards in the Floodplain Management Regulations to support the Village’s commitment to resiliency.

Improving Palmetto Bay’s CRS ranking is the latest success in a series of achievements designed to strengthen the Village and protect its people and their assets.

“Since 2019, the Village has walked the walk on working to make our Village more sustainable and resilient,” said Mayor Cunningham. “I am proud to be one of the few small cities in Miami-Dade, and the only one in South Dade, with a dedicated Resiliency Coordinator. Resiliency and Sustainability Planner Andrea Candelaria deserves a lot of credit for the innovative ways she’s worked to safeguard our community for years to come.”

Residents can expect to see the increased discount on their flood insurance policy as early as April 1, 2025. Contact your insurance company or agent if the discount is not properly reflected in your premium costs.