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100 INTRODUCTION Background: Communities that regulate new development in their floodplains are able to join the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). In return, the NFIP provides federally backed flood insurance for properties in participating communities, Today over 18,500 communities are in the NFIP, There are over 4 million policies in effect and over $8 billion have been paid in flood insurance claims since 1978, The NFIP is one of the nation1s largest programs to manage floodplain development and help pay for repairs to flooded properties, The Community Rating System (CRS) is a part of the NFIP, The CRS reduces flood insurance premiums to reflect what a community does above and beyond the NFIP's minimum standards for floodplain regulation. The objective of the CRS is to reward communities for what lhey are doing, as well as to provide an incentive for new flood protection activities, CRS Classes: The reduction in the insurance premiums is in the form of a CRS classification, There are 10 classes, each providing an additional 5% premium rate reduction for properties in the community's mapped floodplain: Class 10 receives no premium reduction, Class 9 receives 5%, Class 8 receives 10%, etcH In addition, classes 1-9 all provide a 5% reduction for properties outside of the floodplain, A community's class is based on the number of credit points it receives for its floodplain management activities, A community that does not apply for the CRS, or applies but does not obtain the minimum number of credit points, or fails to continuously implement the credited activities, is a Class 10 community, Application: Community participation in the CRS is VOLUNTARY, Any community in full compliance with the rules and regulations of the NFIP may apply for a CRS classification better than Class 10, To date, over 900 communities are participating as CRS class 9 or better. To apply, a community submits documentation that it is implementing floodplain management activities recognized in the CRS Coordinator's Manual. The submittal uses worksheet pages included in the CRS Application and includes additional materials appropriate for each activity, It is important that the community submit correct and complete materials to show what it is doing, Only through a review of the submitted documentation can the credit be verified, A CRS application is submitted to the community's ISO/CRS Specialist (see page 57), The ISO/CRS Specialist is an employee of the Insurance Services Office, Inc, (ISO), ISO works on behalf of FEMA and the insurance companies to review CRS applications, verify the communities' credit points, and perform program improvement tasks, A copy may also be sent to the Regional Office of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the state NFIP Coordinator. No fee is charged for a community to apply for participation in the CRS, The only costs the community incurs are those of implementing creditable floodplain management activities and the staff time needed to prepare the CRS application, All CRS publications and software are available at no cost by using lhe order form on page 53, CRS Application I Edition: January 1999