Port St. Lucie earns flood insurance discounts; how does your town rate?

Port St. Lucie is earning a good grade with FEMA on flood mitigation and that means savings for homeowners with flood insurance policies.

"If you live in the special flood hazard area, which is the flood zones, you get 25% now and if you live outside those zones, you get 10% now," Shane Ratliff, of Port St. Lucie's Emergency Operations, said about the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

James Bailey/WPTV

The discounts were locked in once the city dropped its ratings score from an 8 to a 5.

Ratliff said they did that by meeting requirements on documenting drainage maintenance work, pubic outreach and flood messaging.

"As we start having more rain events, larger rain events, you got to make sure you keep up with your drainage system so we're constantly expanding and making them bigger," Ratliff said.

Recently, Lee County in Florida saw its rating raised, and homeowner discounts removed in a dispute over improvements in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in September 2022.

Scripps

Many Florida cities take part in the program and you can check your municipality .

The average price of flood insurance in Florida is $760 a year, ranging from $541 in low-risk flood zones to $2,472 in high-risk areas, according to LendingTree .